Dark Heart Dawning
by ParisWriter
Summary: AU - With Aizen on the mend following the Winter War, all seemed peaceful in Karakura Town... Until a new type of enemy arrived and reared its ugly head. It all started with the arrival of a woman... (Urahara/OC; slight Renji/Rukia & IchiHime)
1. Chapter 1

Author's Note: Some of you might recognize this story. I had previously posted it under a different user name on here, but since I'm working on consolidating all of my fanfiction under a single account (see my profile for more information) that old version has been scrapped in favor of this new posting.

All standard-issue disclaimers apply. I do not own the world of Bleach or its characters. They are the intellectual property of one Tite Kubo. Any non-canon characters you come across belong to _me_, however, and are not to be used in anyone else's stories without my permission.

Also worth noting: I started writing this story before the end of the Winter War in the manga. Therefore, certain events that happened in canon do not ally to this story - or any of the other Bleach stories I'll be writing, for that matter. Consider this a complete AU.

* * *

><p><span>Chapter One<span>

It was raining.

The first rain of spring fell steadily from the sky, as if it was diligently working to wash away the remnants of the previous winter's battle. Many had been injured, some had fallen, but in the end the forces of Soul Society and their allies had won. The war was far from over, however. Yes, the hougyoku had been successfully destroyed. Aizen had failed to create the replica of the King's Key, and the majority of his forces had suffered their mortal fates. However, the man himself remained at large. It would only be a matter of time before he came up with _another_ plan for domination and attempted to successfully implement it.

Kisuke Urahara sighed heavily and pulled his trademark green-and-white striped hat further down over his eyes as he stood beneath the overhang in front of his shop, contemplating his most dangerous rival's next move. Normally, the sound of the rain brought a certain sense of calm to him, but all he could think of as he listened to the staccato tapping of the droplets hitting the pavement was how each and every one of them reminded him of tears – the tears shed by all those who had lost someone or something during the Winter War. A part of him blamed himself for the whole mess. If he'd never invented that damn hougyoku in the first place, it never would have fallen into Aizen's power-hungry hands. At least they had been able to destroy it, though, with the help of Orihime's powers and his own knowledge of its origins.

"Urahara!"

His moment of self-loathing was interrupted by a familiar voice calling his name, accompanied by the sound of two sets of footsteps smacking loudly against the wet pavement as they rushed in his direction. Lifting his head just enough to be able to peer out from under the brim of his hat, he found Ichigo Kurosaki and Rukia Kuchiki heading toward him at a dead run. They were both currently in their shinigami forms, their shihakushous sticking heavily to their bodies from the rain. Kisuke was about to ask what the rush was about when he noticed the limp figure Ichigo was cradling in his arms.

"She was attacked by a hollow," Rukia explained as they came to a stop before him, panting slightly. "This was the closest place we could think of to take her."

"It looks pretty bad," Ichigo added, sounding a bit crestfallen as his eyes moved down to the unconscious woman in his arms.

Kisuke's own gaze followed the younger man's as he took in the girl's appearance. She was young, but still had the face of an adult, with prominent cheekbones and a sharp nose. Her hair was brown, but it was also wet, and he knew it would be a lighter shade once dry. The clothes she wore were just as weighed down by the rain as those of the man carrying her, and by the way they clung to her form he could see that she appeared to be a bit on the thin side. Her skin was deathly pale, and as Ichigo shifted his grip Kisuke noticed copious amounts of blood seeping between his fingers from the wound on her side that the hollow had caused.

"Bring her in," he ordered, stepping aside and sliding open the front door of the shop. He allowed the others to enter before him and immediately followed, not even bothering to close the door behind him as he rushed ahead of them to open the way into the back room for Ichigo.

"Tessai!" he called out as Ichigo laid the young woman down on the floor, keeping his hand pressed to her side in a vain attempt to stop her bleeding.

"Yes, boss?" came the gruff voice of Tessai Tsukabishi as he stepped into the room, holding a large ladle in one hand. A black cat followed him, immediately taking up a position along one wall as it watched the scene unfold before it with wise eyes.

"Have Ururu finish cooking dinner," Kisuke instructed him, gesturing to their injured guest. "Please tend to this girl's wounds as best you can."

Tessai nodded once and called out to Ururu, who obediently came rushing from her room to see what was needed of her. Tessai passed his ladle to her and gave her instructions on how to proceed with the rest of the cooking, then sent her to the kitchen as he knelt on the floor and began examining the girl, who had started to shiver.

"What's all this racket in here?" Renji Abarai asked as he wandered in from the hallway, rubbing the sleep from his eyes. "I finally get a chance to catch some shut-eye before dinner and now you're all in here shouting."

"Renji!" Rukia said his name curtly, admonishing him with a glare before pointing to where Ichigo was still kneeling on the floor across from Tessai. His drowsy eyes followed her finger and he blinked, suddenly very awake and feeling like a jackass as he realized the cause of the commotion.

"Renji, go fetch Orihime, in case her wounds are too much for Tessai to mend on his own," Urahara told him.

Renji made a face as he looked out the window. The rain was coming down in sheets, which would plaster his clothing to his body and make it harder to get around. Not only that, but his long hair would get completely soaked and he'd have to let it dry out before he could put it back up in his usual ponytail again.

"I'll go," Rukia offered, noticing his hesitation. "I'm already wet."

"No! I'll go," Renji insisted, shoving his Soul Candy into his mouth and taking off in spirit form before she could protest. Rukia smirked as he ran out the door. She knew he would rather brave a storm than let _her_ have to go out in that kind of weather.

"Will she be alright?" Ichigo asked hopefully as Tessai continued his examination of the girl. The large man's features were set in a deep scowl of concentration, a thoughtful murmur rumbling low in his throat as he pushed aside Ichigo's hand to get a better look at her wound. To Urahara's surprise, what he had originally perceived to be a single wound was actually three elongated gashes in her side, equally spaced from one another. Apparently, the hollow had lashed out and caught her with some sort of claws.

"I can heal her wounds," Tessai replied after a moment, poising his own hands over the injury as he began applying a healing kidou. "However, it appears she may have lost a good deal of blood, so I can't guarantee anything."

"What if she got a transfusion?" Ichigo suggested as he leapt to his feet, thinking of his father's small family clinic. Surely, they must have some blood on hand for emergencies, as well as the necessary equipment to implement a transfusion. Even if they didn't, Uryu's family owned a hospital that would.

"We can give her something to help bolster her up, once her wounds have been healed," Urahara assured him, giving him a meaningful glance. Ichigo nodded and knelt on the floor once more, understanding exactly what was being said. He had been near-death when Urahara had found him after his first encounter with Renji and Byakuya, and had one of the weird shopkeeper's 'special potions' to thank for helping to save his life.

Frowning a bit, he turned his attention back to the woman he had failed to save from the hollow. Tessai was still working on healing her wounds, a light sweat breaking out on his rugged brow while he concentrated all of his energy into his hands as he held them over the deep cuts in her abdomen. Ichigo watched in amazement as the bleeding slowed to a mere trickle before stopping altogether, and continued to stare in awe as the wounds themselves gradually healed shut. No matter how many times he saw it, he still found it fascinating how easily Tessai and Orihime could heal even the most grievous of wounds without leaving so much as a scar.

"She's still shivering," Rukia observed, kneeling near him and placing a palm against the girl's forehead to check for a fever.

"That's a side-effect of the blood loss," Ichigo explained to her, happy for what little medical knowledge he possessed. He might have failed at keeping her safe, and perhaps he couldn't do anything to help heal her, but at least he could sound like he was contributing to the rescue effort by verbally assessing the situation. "Her wet clothes probably aren't helping much, either."

"Well, then," Urahara stated as he stood up, clapping his hands together. "I suppose we'll just have to get her changed into something a bit drier."

"Hold it right there," the cat said in its deceptively masculine voice, still seated against the far wall of the room. "What do you think you're doing?"

Urahara froze, bent halfway over the young woman's still form, his arms held out before him as he prepared to scoop her up into his embrace in order to carry her to one of the spare bedrooms on the second floor above the shop.

"Uh... As I said, Yoruichi-san, I was just going to get her changed out of her wet clothes into something suitably warmer and more dry."

"I cannot let you do that," the black cat replied, its tail twitching a bit in an annoyed manner as it narrowed its yellow eyes at the man.

"Why not?" Urahara inquired, feigning innocence. "As the proprietor of this shop and head of this household, it is my duty to show hospitality to all those who enter."

"You and I both know you're a pervert, Kisuke," the cat stated as its tail began slapping against the floor at an increased speed. "That poor girl deserves to keep some of her dignity, which will be lost if she has to deal with _you_ pawing at her as you change her clothes."

Urahara laughed lightly and straightened up once more, his hands falling limply to his sides in defeat.

"I should feel insulted that you are suggesting I would do something inappropriate in this situation," he said, pulling out his white paper fan and opening it with a flick of his wrist. "However, I fully understand your concern. Should she come to while in the midst of being undressed by a strange man, she would be greatly traumatized."

"I'll take care of her," Yoruichi announced before transforming out of her feline guise and back into her human form.

"How is _that_ going to be any better?" Ichigo shrieked, quickly covering his eyes to shield his gaze from the sight of the fully-naked woman standing before them. Rukia blushed while the other two men in the room had no visible reaction to her overt nudity, as they had grown accustomed to it in the centuries they had both known her.

"Kisuke, could you show me where to put her?" Yoruichi asked as she effortlessly picked up the unconscious woman, purposely ignoring Ichigo's outburst with a smirk.

"Certainly," Urahara replied, leading her out of the room. Ichigo waited until he heard their retreating footsteps fade away down the hall before pulling his hands away from his eyes with a relieved sigh.

"Hey! Urahara! I brought Orihime, like you said!" Renji called loudly as he entered through the shop at the front, wringing the water out of his hair. Orihime quietly entered behind him, closing the door as she shook out her umbrella.

"Oh! We don't need her now, Renji," Rukia called to him, leaning forward behind Ichigo's back so she could look out into the shop and address him directly, her lips curved into a devilish smile at the sight of him standing there, thoroughly drenched from the downpour. "But thank you for your hard work, anyway!"

Renji gaped at her, the corner of his eye twitching slightly.

_The things I do for love_, he thought, annoyed at himself.

"Ichigo!" Orihime called as she walked past him at a brisk pace into the back room, taking up a seat on the floor next to Ichigo. "Renji said someone was injured by a hollow."

"Yeah," Ichigo told her, turning slightly to face her. "Tessai here was able to heal her, but she's still in a pretty bad state."

"The boss and I will take good care of her, don't worry," Tessai assured them.

"Thank you," Ichigo told him, then got to his feet with a small sigh. "I'm going to go have a word with Urahara."

Orihime watched him as he left the room, his shoulders slumped ever so slightly and his gait more sluggish than normal. She could sense that something was weighing heavily on his mind, and had half a good idea as to what that something was. He always felt down whenever someone was hurt by a hollow, feeling it was his fault for not being able to protect them. Every time she caught him in that sort of mood, she wanted to throw her arms around him and hug him and tell him it wasn't his fault. Her eyes moved surreptitiously toward where Rukia was still sitting, and she could tell by the look on the shinigami's face that she, too, had noticed the nearly imperceptible change in his demeanor. Thankfully, though, Rukia didn't jump up and rush after Ichigo to attempt to knock some sense back into him the way she so often did whenever he got into one of his dark moods. Orihime felt a slight twinge of regret for having such jealous thoughts, but she had resolved to herself after they had survived the Winter War that she would be more outgoing and true to her feelings toward Ichigo.

All she had to do was find the courage she needed to wrap him in her arms and tell him everything would be alright.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two

Yoruichi Shihouin grumbled to herself as she slipped into her black leggings, the stretchy cotton fabric feeling like an uncomfortable, constricting second skin. Kisuke had insisted she get dressed before tending to the injured girl, who was now laid out on a futon in the center of the spare bedroom they had decided to put her in – which, to Yoruichi's utter dislike, happened to be directly across the hall from Kisuke's own bedroom. He had disappeared almost immediately after giving her the order to dress, headed in the direction of the storage closet at the end of the hallway, and she could hear various bottles clinking together as he worked on mixing up some sort of concoction to give to the girl.

"I don't know _why_ you're so insistent on me wearing clothes, Kisuke," she protested as she tugged her matching black top on over her head. Deciding she was adequately clothed, she knelt down next to the prone figure and pulled the elastic band from the girl's hair, which had probably been holding it all back in a neat ponytail at one point, but had ended up being half tangled in the mass of her brown hair between her attack by the hollow and being carried around by Ichigo.

"If you think she'd be traumatized by waking up to find a strange man stripping her," Kisuke replied as he entered the room, carrying a beaker half-full of a pinkish liquid in one hand, "then just imagine how affected she'd be if she awoke to the sight of a strange, _naked_ woman undressing her."

Yoruichi frowned slightly, knowing he had a point. While he and Tessai were comfortable with her exhibitionism, it wasn't something people generally just regarded as being a normal occurrence. She nodded toward the beaker in his hand as he knelt across from her, lifting the girl's head slightly with his free hand before carefully pouring the sickeningly sweet-smelling elixir down her throat.

"What are you giving her?"

"It's just a simple restorative draught," Kisuke explained, administering the last of the potion with a practiced ease. "It will aid her body in increasing the production of new blood cells to replace those she lost due to her injuries."

"How long do you think she'll be out?" Yoruichi asked, her eyes falling to the girl's face. She wasn't shivering quite as much now that she was under the thick comforter, but her bottom lip was still quivering and her skin was nearly as white as the bedding that surrounded her.

"I'd say a day, maybe two," he estimated, setting the empty glass container down on the floor next to him.

The two of them remained silent for a long moment, their eyes fixed on the girl's face as they both silently prayed that she would have the strength to pull through. Not only was she young, with her whole life ahead of her, but they both knew very well that if she didn't survive, Ichigo would take her death the hardest. He had a nasty habit of blaming himself whenever _anyone_ he'd had contact with died, even if he hadn't even been present at their downfall – such as when several of the lesser shinigami forces had been wiped out by one of Aizen's attacks.

Suddenly, out of nowhere, a chill ran through their entire bodies. They looked up at one another, eyes slightly wide in surprise.

"Hey, Sandal-Hat," Ichigo called from outside the doorway. "Is Yoruichi decent?"

"What is it, Ichigo?" Kisuke addressed him, turning on his heel before rising to a standing position. Ichigo stepped into the doorway, scratching the back of his head, carefully avoiding making eye contact with the purple-haired woman who was still seated on the floor.

"I wanted to talk to you about something."

"Alright," he replied, folding his arms so that his hands disappeared in the sleeves of his top.

"In private," Ichigo added, his eyes flickering briefly toward Yoruichi. The older man looked back over his shoulder at his companion, wondering what it was that the boy didn't feel comfortable talking about in her presence.

"You heard the kid, Kisuke," she said. "Besides, you need to get out of here so I can get this girl out of her wet clothes. Or did you think I was going to let you stick around and _watch_?"

"Very well, Yoruichi-san," he replied, stepping out into the hall with Ichigo and closing the door to the bedroom behind him. He gestured across the hallway to his own room, which was about as private as they were going to get with a house full of people, and the two of them proceeded through the doorway into the sparsely furnished bedroom of the eccentric shopkeeper.

"What was it you wanted to discuss?" he asked as he took a seat on a large, round cushion in the corner of the room. Ichigo sat across from him, cross-legged on the floor, once again scratching the back of his head.

"I really don't know how to explain this," he began, sounding thoughtful. "When Rukia and I went after that hollow, there were these... _things_ with it."

"Things?" Urahara asked, wanting further clarification on just what he had seen.

"They didn't exactly look like hollows," Ichigo told him. "At least, not any sort of hollow I've ever seen."

"Well, what _did_ they look like?" Urahara prompted.

"They were... black. Completely black, no white hollow mask or anything, which is why I don't think they were hollows. They had these really thin bodies, almost like they were nothing more than skin and bones, and long arms with what looked almost like human hands... if the hands had been decomposing for a while, at any rate. And they had these sort of elongated heads with these snouts full of really _nasty_ looking, sharp teeth – which were also black. The only thing that wasn't black were their eyes. Their eyes were red."

"Interesting," Urahara mused, stroking his stubbled chin thoughtfully. "Anything else you observed about them?"

"Yeah," Ichigo nodding slightly. "When I killed one of them... it didn't disintegrate like the hollows usually do."

"What happened?"

"Well, at first it just fell onto the ground like a dead body," Ichigo recalled, looking at a nearby spot on the floor as if the body was lying next to him at that very moment. "Then it sort of dissolved into this strange black ooze, and then the ooze seeped down into the ground and disappeared."

Urahara remained completely silent and still, mentally running down a list of various spiritual entities and attempting to recall one that fit the descriptions that Ichigo had given him.

"What the hell were those things, Urahara?" Ichigo asked, his voice a whisper of quiet fear. Urahara knew that no matter what they were, the boy had already proven his ability to handle them. But not knowing what an enemy is and what they are fully capable of was always a daunting thing.

"I have no idea what they are, Ichigo," he replied, his own voice quiet as he remained slightly lost in thought, wondering if perhaps the Department of Research and Development at the Soul Society might have some data that would be helpful in identifying the strange creatures. "But we'll find out."

* * *

><p>The rain had finally stopped. The only remainder of the storm that had earlier been beating down on Karakura Town was the crisp scent that always seemed to permeate the air after a rain shower.<p>

Once again, Kisuke Urahara found himself standing outside his shop, leaning back against the outer wall, next to the door. His hat was pulled low over his face, his head bent down, his left arm crossed over his chest as his right hand rested just under his chin in a lightly-closed fist. He was lost in thought, again, contemplating those strange creatures Ichigo had described to him. They didn't sound like any type of hollow or arrancar he had ever heard of. Just the same, he couldn't help but wonder if these things – whatever they were – might be under Aizen's control. Surely, if they had been attacking alongside the hollow, they had to have _some_ sort of connection to him. It suddenly occurred to him that if Aizen really _was_ responsible for the appearance of the strange creatures, they may very well be something new that he had designed and created himself. Therefore, there would be absolutely no way they could ever hope to fully prepare themselves for whatever they might be capable of doing.

"Penny for your thoughts," Yoruichi said as she stepped outside, silently sliding the front door of the shop closed behind her.

"How is she?" he asked, referring to the injured girl he had given her the task of watching over.

"Still unconscious," Yoruichi reported with a sigh as she leaned against the wall, next to him, stretching her legs out in front of her. "She stopped shivering rather quickly once I got her out of those wet clothes. They were pretty torn up from the attack she endured."

"We'll have Ishida fix them for her," he stated automatically. Uryuu Ishida, Ichigo's Quincy friend, was the one everyone seemed to go to whenever they needed any sort of sewing skills. Urahara himself had gone to the boy and asked him to design the costumes for the Karakura-Raizer team, even.

"Orihime is watching over her right now," Yoruichi informed him. "I figured, she shouldn't be left alone since she's in an unfamiliar place."

"Probably not a bad idea."

"Kisuke?"

"Hmm?"

"You felt it, too, didn't you?"

His eyes fell closed and he nodded slightly in response to her question, lowering his right arm and crossing it with the other one over his chest.

"What the hell _was_ that?" Yoruichi asked, keeping her voice low. The others were still inside, but the majority of them were awake and she didn't need to panic the entire household by allowing them to overhear the conversation she and Kisuke were having about their new guest.

"I have no idea," Urahara replied with a quiet chuckle. "I'm sorry. I know it's not a laughing matter, but I just find it amusing the number of times I've said that, today."

"What do you mean?" she wondered as she turned her head to look at him, her brow furrowed in confusion.

Urahara sighed deeply and pushed away from the wall, turning himself fully to look at her, and calmly reiterated everything Ichigo had told him before about the strange creatures he'd fought alongside the hollow. He carefully watched her expression as he relayed the information, and noticed her golden, cat-like eyes widen considerably as she inevitably came to the same conclusion he had already formed in his own mind.

"Normally, I'm the one with all the answers. That's probably why Ichigo came to me," he concluded. "He didn't mention if Rukia saw them, but I imagine she did since she was with him fighting that hollow."

"Kisuke... I'm sure you've already realized- "

"This may be Aizen's work," he finished for her, nodding again as he let out a deep sigh. "I know. And if it is, then that means he's gotten back to full power much faster than we had anticipated."

"That's not what I was going to say," she corrected him, causing him to look up at her from under his hat, his blue-grey eyes still obscured by shadow.

"Doesn't it seem odd," she continued, "that these strange creatures started showing up at the same time that this girl gets attacked by a hollow?"

"It could just be a coincidence," Kisuke replied with a shrug of his broad shoulders.

"It's not," Yoruichi countered, turning to face him and crossing her arms over her chest. "You _know_ it's not, Kisuke. There is _nothing_ coincidental about a girl with strange reiatsu like that showing up at the _exact_ same time as these... whatever they are."

"Then what do you suggest we do?" he asked her. "We can't very well just throw her out on the street, in her current state."

"We need to get her out of here as soon as we can, though," Yoruichi insisted. "Once she's conscious and we're sure she's going to live, she needs to go. We can't afford to let her stick around and have her get ahold of inside information on our strategies."

"That is... assuming she _does_, in fact, have ties to Aizen," he argued. "And if she does, it might benefit us to let her stay here as long as she likes."

"Keep your friends close, but keep your enemies closer?" she questioned his logic, raising an eyebrow. "That doesn't always work out, you know. Look at what happened to Shinji."

Kisuke nodded slightly. "I am well aware of that, Yoruichi-san, but I think that the _first_ thing we need to do is determine what she already knows, if anything."

"She could easily lie to us, Kisuke," Yoruichi pointed out to him. "Are you really willing to take that chance?"

Kisuke remained silent for a long while, considering everything she had said. Yes, it did seem odd that this woman had shown up at the same time as the unidentifiable creatures that Ichigo had seen. It also hadn't escaped him that Aizen could possibly be behind either or possibly both of their sudden appearances. A part of him wanted to have faith that Aizen was still too weak to be able to pull off another scheme so soon, but his paranoid side couldn't help taking Yoruichi's concerns to heart.

"You know me," he finally said, cracking a bit of a smile. "I always have a back-up plan for when things go wrong."

She considered him for a moment, her eyes narrowed, then turned toward the shop and began making her way back inside.

"You better know what you're doing, Kisuke," she warned him over her shoulder before disappearing through the front door, sliding it shut once more behind her.

Kisuke sighed and leaned back against the wall again, his head tilted back as he looked up at the clear night sky. If he was entirely honest, he really had _no idea_ what he was getting himself into. But his instincts told him that the girl posed no threat to them, even if common sense asserted that she may very well be working for the enemy.

He just hoped his instincts could be trusted, this time.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter Three 

Uryuu Ishida frowned distastefully as he held up the ruined garment, slightly disgusted with the amount of dirt and blood that were ground into the fabric. He had barely been awake five minutes when he received a summons to come to the Urahara Shop before school. Naturally, he had gone, thinking that perhaps that oddball genius of a shopkeeper had detected some sort of movement from Aizen... but he'd thought wrong. The _real_ reason he'd been asked to come to the shop that morning was so that the proprietor could ask him for the use of his sewing skills.

"Can you fix it?" came the inappropriately serious voice of the man in the striped hat.

"It's completely shredded across the midsection," Uryuu told him.

"But can you fix it?" Urahara repeated.

Uryuu sighed and pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose, closing his eyes as he took a deep breath to compose himself. _This_ was what he had been reduced to since the end of the Winter War? An on-call seamstress?

"No, not even someone with my skill could fix this garment," he informed the annoying man. "It's completely ruined. Better to just throw it away."

"Then I suppose our guest will just have to join Yoruichi-san in walking about naked!" Urahara remarked cheerfully, earning a smack up the back of the head from the dark-skinned woman sitting next to him that was nearly hard enough to knock off his hat.

"Guest?" Uryuu inquired, more out of curiosity than surprise. He had felt the unusual form of reiatsu when he first set foot within the shop, but refrained from making any comments about it lest it be the result of one of Urahara's many experiments, knowing that the proud inventor would end up talking his ear off if he thought someone might be the least bit interested in what he was currently working on.

"A young woman was attacked by a hollow last night," Yoruichi explained. "Ichigo brought her here so we could tend to her injuries. That dress belongs to her."

Uryuu held the ruined lavender sundress up once more and examined the jagged tears running from the side seam nearly to the other side of the garment across the front, along with the large bloodstain that permeated practically the entire central portion of the dress' back.

"It's a wonder she survived the attack at all," he commented, imagining from the state of her clothing that she must have been nearly disemboweled by the hollow that attacked her.

"The dress makes her injuries seem worse than they really were," Urahara remarked, as if reading his mind. "She had three somewhat deep gashes in her left side, but they weren't anything Tessai couldn't handle."

"Then why did you bother having Renji go after Orihime?" Yoruichi asked.

"Now, now, Yoruichi-san... You and I both know Tessai's strengths lie in hadou and bakudou, not healing kidou. We couldn't very well risk the girl's life."

"That's a _real_ nice thing to say about one of your best friends, Kisuke ," she admonished him. "Have you forgotten he used to be the _captain_ of the Kidou Corps?"

Uryuu cleared his throat to remind them of his presence before they became too engaged in their squabble, laying out the ruined dress on top of the low table before him.

"I can make her a new dress, but it will require some materials," he told them. "I am also going to need her measurements."

"I'll go get them for you," Urahara offered, hopping to his feet. Yoruichi grabbed the edge of his dark green overcoat and tugged it sharply, pulling him back down to the floor and earning a surprised yelp from him.

"I think Uryuu is quite capable of taking her measurements on his own," she said through clenched teeth, thoroughly tired of him acting like a horny teenager desperate for some way to cop a feel of a pretty girl. She rose to her feet, casting a glance toward the boy seated across from them, and Uryuu stood, as well.

"You stay here," she ordered Kisuke, pointing a stern finger in his face, then left the room and escorted Uryuu to the room where the girl was being kept.

"Oh! Good morning, Mr. Uryuu," Ururu greeted him from her post next to the unconscious woman, bowing slightly. She had taken over the duty of watching over her when Orihime had grown too tired to keep her eyes open any longer, and her own, normally wide blue eyes were now heavy-lidded from her lack of sleep the previous night.

"Good morning, Ururu," he replied with a kind smile, then froze just inside the doorway of the room when his eyes fell upon the figure lying in the middle of the floor, a small sound of surprise escaping his throat. He turned to look at Yoruichi, silently asking her a question with his eyes, and she simply nodded in reply.

"Ururu, you look tired," she said as she went over to where the child was sitting and crouched down beside her, reaching up to gently stroke her hair. "Why don't you go get some sleep, and I'll take over watching the lady?"

"O-Okay," she stammered quietly before pulling herself to her feet. She wavered slightly, rubbing at one of her tired eyes with her hand, then bowed deeply in gratitude to the woman taking over her duty for her and made her way toward the door. Before leaving the room, she paused and turned back, her young face looking a bit uncertain.

"Are you sure it's alright?" she asked meekly. "Mr. Kisuke told me I was supposed to stay here and guard her."

"It's fine, Ururu," Yoruichi assured her with a nod. "If Kisuke has a problem with me relieving you of your watch, he can take it up with me."

Ururu nodded, smiling a bit as she muttered her thanks, then left the room and headed for the small bedroom she occupied at the other end of the hall.

"Close the door," Yoruichi instructed Uryuu as she sat down on the floor, tucking her legs to the side. Uryuu complied to her wishes, carefully sliding the bedroom door shut before taking a seat on the other side of the unconscious woman.

"So you noticed it too, huh?" she asked once they were both sitting down, nodding her head toward the figure between them.

"Yeah..." he replied softly, his blue eyes narrowed slightly as he took in the appearance of the woman who had survived the hollow attack the night before. "There's something strange about her reiatsu. It doesn't feel like any I've ever encountered before."

"Kisuke and I noticed the same thing. The difference is subtle, but it's definitely there."

"Do either of you have any ideas about what it means?" he inquired, lifting one of the girl's pale hands, his glasses sliding down his nose a bit as he bent over to better examine it.

"Not a clue," Yoruichi told him with a heavy sigh. "We have our theories, though."

"Theories?" he wondered, looking up at her and pushing his glasses back into place.

"Kisuke thinks she isn't any threat to us," she stated, her voice holding an edge of displeasure, "but she may be connected to Aizen, somehow."

"Do you have any proof of that?" he asked her.

"Well... No... We don't have any actual _proof_ that she's connected to him," she admitted. "But it seems very likely, once you think about it."

"Innocent until proven guilty, Miss Yoruichi," he chided her. "Besides, I don't think Aizen would be ready to make a move yet, so soon after taking all the damage he did in the last battle."

"You sound like Kisuke," she grumbled.

"She _seems_ human," Uryuu mused aloud, returning to his careful scrutiny of the girl's appendages. "But..."

"But what?" Yoruichi asked when he allowed his voice to quietly trail off. Uryuu laid the girl's arm back down at her side and sat back on his heels with his legs tucked under him.

"Humans' spirit ribbons are white," he told her, his eyebrows coming together as he frowned in confusion, "but hers is _black_. I've never even _seen_ a black one, before."

Yoruichi had guessed he might say something like that. It perfectly matched the feeling she and Kisuke had experienced the night before – dark, somewhat foreboding, and definitely not like the reiatsu of any human or shinigami they had ever come across in all their years.

"Let's just get her measurements, shall we?" she suggested after a moment of tense silence, flashing a smile to help brighten the atmosphere between them.

Uryuu was happy to oblige, wanting to put as much distance between himself and the unconscious woman before him as soon as possible. He dug around in his school bag for a tape measure and took the necessary measurements as Yoruichi helped him position the girl's body in order to wrap the tool around her. Once he had all the information he needed, he quickly jotted it down into a small notebook and rose to his feet, assuring her he would have a new dress ready for them in the morning before hastily leaving the room and putting the entire shop behind him.

On his way to school, one thought kept popping up in the forefront of his mind: If Urahara really did intend to let that girl stick around once she was better, then he must be even more insane than Uryuu had originally thought.

* * *

><p>Renji grumbled as he shifted his position on the floor, raising his head slightly to check that the girl was still out cold before laying back down and closing his eyes once more. He didn't understand why <em>he<em> had to be stuck with the afternoon shift of watching over her. She was _unconscious_. She wasn't going anywhere. Besides, Urahara had _volunteered_ to do it. So why did he have to be the one made to suffer by being cooped up in a room without so much as a radio, much less a television, keeping watch over some sleeping chick.

"I don't trust Kisuke alone with her," Yoruichi had told him when he whined to her that he didn't think he should have to be the one to take the job. "Besides, there's something I want you to do for me."

He had to admit, it had been kinda cool, going behind Urahara's back like some sort of spy on a secret mission. Yoruichi had given him _explicit_ instructions on what he was to do, then threatened him with "a horrible death the likes of which you cannot even _begin_ to imagine," should he let the details of his little task slip to anyone other than herself.

The 'mission' had been simple enough: Take a picture of the girl and send it to Soul Society to see if the Department of Research and Development could come up with anything on her. Yoruichi had told him she really didn't expect them to have anything on file, but she still wanted it done, just in case they already knew something about her. Renji had asked why she was so desperate to find out everything she could about the girl, but all that she would tell him was that she believed the girl should be considered a possible threat.

"Yeah, right," Renji mumbled to himself, stretching out a bit more across the floor. How the hell did an _unconscious_ woman pose a threat to them? What was she going to do, take up too much space?

He felt the sensation almost as soon as the thoughts entered his mind, and his eyes flew open. Sitting up, he regarded the figure lying before him with a sense of confusion mixed with a bit of fear. She certainly didn't _look_ the least bit imposing, but that sudden wave of reiatsu that had pulsed from within her had been unlike anything he'd ever experienced before. His own captain's reiatsu could often times inspire dread in those who didn't know how to deal with the vast amount of power, but this was somehow different. It felt like he was drowning in darkness, and he broke out in a cold sweat as he suddenly realized he couldn't breathe.

Almost as abruptly as the sensation had hit him, it was gone again, and the room felt still and calm once more. Renji swallowed nervously and reached up with a shaking hand, wiping away some sweat that had began to run down his cheek, his breath coming in slightly shallow gasps. He scrambled backwards until his back hit the wall and pulled his legs in to his chest, wanting to keep as much distance between himself and the girl as the confines of the small bedroom would allow.

In the last minute and a half, it had become very clear to him why Yoruichi thought the girl might be dangerous.


	4. Chapter 4

Author's Note: Okay... I know that pretty much _everyone_ hated the Bount arc in the anime (myself included), but I can't help but love those amusing little plushies that came out of it. So, fair warning: This chapter marks the first appearance of those three. It also marks the actual introduction of the girl Ichigo saved, as well as another mystery surrounding her. Enjoy, my readers!

* * *

><p><span>Chapter Four <span>

"Ahh... Thank you all for coming."

Mayuri Kurotsuchi, Captain of Squad 12 and Head of the Department of Research and Development, sat in his usual chair before the various monitors in his dark office, grinning like a Cheshire cat with his white hands steepled before him. His gold eyes moved slowly from one person to the next as they stood before him, wondering why she had asked him to question these, of all people. He supposed it was because they had served the longest as captains within the Gotei 13, but he sincerely doubted a single one of them would be of any real help. Kyouraku was a drunkard who spent more time chasing women and napping than he did doing any actual _work_. Ukitake was sick so often that it would probably be more beneficial to speak to his subordinates than to him. Unohana was from Squad 4 – useless, the whole lot of them... The only one who _might_ be able to glean some information on the situation was the Captain-Commander.

"What is it you have asked us to come here for?" Ukitake asked in that slightly-raspy, yet somehow haughty-sounding tone of voice of his that annoyed Mayuri so much.

"The four of you have served the longest as captains in the Gotei 13," he informed the group.

"Well over 200 years, a piece," Kyouraku bragged, causing Mayuri's eye to twitch involuntarily. How a man that idiotic had managed to stay a captain so long, he'd never know. Probably some sort of favoritism on the Captain-Commander's part.

"_As I was saying_, before being so _rudely_ interrupted," he continued, shooting a pointed glare at the flamboyantly-dressed captain. "There have been some interesting developments in the world of the living, and I have been requested to look into them by Yoruichi Shihouin."

He fell silent for several long moments after that, allowing the information to sink in for them. The looks on their faces gradually changed from ones of calm confusion to looks of well-concealed worry and fear.

_Good_, he thought, grinning even more. _They've got the picture._

"As you no doubt have finally realized, this may mean that Aizen has already returned to full power. I have been sent a document detailing a first-person account relayed by Ichigo Kurosaki to Kisuke Urahara concerning the unexplained appearance of a new type of spiritual being. However, just because that brat doesn't know what he had been put up against doesn't mean we have no idea what these creatures may be... And that is where you all come in."

He swiftly turned back toward the computer terminal, his fingers flying over the keys as he kept speaking.

"I have entered the data based on the description given by Kurosaki, and have come up with a preliminary model of what these creatures probably look like," he announced seconds before a picture popped up on the main screen above his head.

Unohana gasped softly at the sight before them. The creature looked almost like a human that had been burned beyond recognition, and it possessed glowing red eyes and a snout full of razor-sharp teeth – which Mayuri had played up a bit by adding some bloody drool in order to achieve an even more menacing and evil effect.

"Behold!" he announced, throwing his arms up into the air as he cackled. He had no information on the creature in his data banks, but just the knowledge that there was something out there he had yet to come across and experiment on was enough to make him giddy with excitement.

"What the hell is that thing?" Kyouraku drawled, his upper lip curled a bit in disgust.

"I do not know," Ukitake replied quietly.

"What about you, Yama-jii?" Kyouraku asked the Captain-Commander. "You're the oldest one here. This thing look at all familiar to you?"

The Captain-Commander made a thoughtful sound deep in his throat, then remained quiet as he pondered the situation. The other three captains watched him expectantly, wondering if perhaps he did know what they were going up against.

"I'm sorry, but I cannot recall ever seeing something such as that before," he finally said after a lengthy amount of meditation. "In all my years as a shinigami, I have never witnessed an attack by such a monstrosity."

"That is not all," Mayuri told them, still facing his terminal. He hit a button and another image came up on the overhead screen: A picture of a young woman, apparently sleeping.

"This picture was taken by Lieutenant Renji Abarai of Squad 6," he informed the group. "The girl you see here was present at the hollow attack during which those creatures first appeared. The hollow managed to injure her rather severely, but she was saved by Kurosaki and healed by Tessai Tsukabishi. She is currently unconscious and regaining her strength at the Urahara Shop."

Ukitake secretively cast a glance to his right, taking in his best friend's reaction to this latest development. Kyouraku was unblinkingly staring at the picture, his mouth slightly agape. Ukitake nudged him gently in the arm, careful not to let the rest of the captains notice the interaction, and the other man quickly pulled himself together and was once again the perfect picture of laid-back contentment.

"What does she have to do with this, Mayuri-san?" Unohana inquired, her sapphire eyes moving back and forth between the picture of the girl and the one of the unusual creature.

"According to Yoruichi's report, her reiatsu is unlike anything she has ever experienced in her life," Mayuri stated, sounding a bit bored. "She said, and I quote, 'It feels like there's this subtly dark, foreboding presence lurking beneath her skin'. Also, she mentioned that the Quincy boy was able to see this young woman's spirit ribbon, and instead of it being the usual white of a human, it was black."

The Captain-Commander's eyes almost imperceptibly opened briefly upon hearing this news, but a moment later he had recomposed himself and tapped his walking stick on the ground before him in order to draw the attention of the others to him. Even Mayuri swiveled around in his chair in order to see what the head of the Gotei 13 had to say.

"This is not the work of Sousuke Aizen," he stated confidently. "I do not know what this girl may be capable of, however, so please inform Miss Shihouin to keep a close watch on her at all times once she has regained consciousness."

"Understood," Mayuri replied, then turned back to his terminal and began tapping away frantically at the keys in order to relay the message as soon as possible.

"Let us go, then, and leave Captain Kurotsuchi to his work," the Captain-Commander suggested, turning and walking out of the room. Captain Unohana followed closely behind, head bowed respectfully as she traveled in the old man's wake. The remaining two captains lingered behind them, and Ukitake waited until they were far enough away from Mayuri's lab to be out of earshot of any devices he might have set up for eavesdropping on those around him before turning to address his companion.

"Are you alright, my friend?" he asked, sounding concerned.

"It was like seeing a ghost," Kyouraku remarked, his own voice unusually quiet. He stopped walking and closed his eyes, sighing heavily.

A picture formed in his mind, this one entirely different from the one they had just seen. A girl with shoulder-length light brown hair held back by a pale blue ribbon smiled shyly at him, a blush gracing her fair cheeks. He could still hear her laughter, even now, ringing in his ears like the sweetest music that had ever been written. And those eyes...

Kyouraku sighed again and opened his eyes, then kept walking toward his division's grounds, in desperate need of a drink. The girl's eyes had been closed in that picture, but he was willing to bet an entire year's pay that when she opened them, they would be green.

* * *

><p>Yoruichi stared at the girl's sleeping face as she sat on her chest in her feline form, tail wrapped neatly around her legs and eyes narrowed almost viciously. She had received the response from Mayuri Kurotsuchi nearly an hour ago, and had been none too pleased with what Captain-Commander Yamamoto had to say about the situation at hand. Normally, she would have been relieved and even happy to hear that he didn't think Aizen was behind the appearance of the girl <em>or<em> those strange creatures Ichigo had seen, but a part of her still felt like something wasn't right with this picture. In fact, Yamamoto's message in itself had been rather contradictory: "Don't worry, but do keep an eye on her every move, just in case."

"Hey, watch it!" came a high-pitched female voice in a loud whisper outside the room.

"Sorry," replied a foppish male voice, speaking rather loudly.

"Shh!" scolded the first voice again. "You want us to get caught?"

Yoruichi turned her head and watched the bedroom door intently. Everything remained silent for a while, and then the door slid open a few inches, very slowly. A moment later three small heads poked around the edge of the door, one on top of another: A green turtle head, a square-shaped pink head that looked like some sort of rabbit designed by someone on acid, and a bird's head with a curl of orange hair and a blue bonnet.

"What are _you three_ doing here?" Yoruichi asked them, sounding rather menacing with her deep, masculine cat voice.

"Uh..." the bird said, blinking rapidly as she tried to quickly come up with an excuse for their intrusion. "We... We just wanted to see what all the commotion around here lately has been about, that's all."

"It _has_ been rather boring around here since the end of the last battle," the rabbit added.

"Un," the turtle grunted in agreement, nodding.

Yoruichi continued to stare the three of them down, hoping that maybe she could intimidate them into leaving, but they just looked so pathetic standing there, desperate for a way to feel useful again. She figured she could stand to take pity on them – at least for a little while.

"Well don't just stand there," she told them, "get in here if you want to have a look."

Ririn and Kuroudo cheered as they rushed into the room, with Noba following silently at a slower pace. The two of them immediately hopped up onto the girl's chest for a better look, nearly knocking Yoruichi off in the process, and leaned over to closely examine the girl's face while Noba calmly sat down on the floor above her head.

"What, this is it?" Ririn exclaimed, sounding disappointed. "It's just some girl. I thought I heard something about some weird monster."

"That was what Ichigo said, yes," Kuroudo assured her. "Some sort of evil, black monster with red eyes."

"Don't tell me you three were eavesdropping, _again_," Yoruichi growled at them, knowing that that was the only way they could have possibly overheard Ichigo telling Kisuke about the strange creatures he had encountered.

"Not intentionally," Kuroudo replied, turning his pink head to address the feline. "We were snooping around Urahara's room and heard someone coming, so we had to hide in the closet."

"Kuroudo!" Ririn scolded him, beating him over the head with one of her wings. "You idiot! Why did you tell her _that_?"

"I'm sorry!" Kuroudo whimpered, shaking in terror. "Please don't eat me, Yoruichi!"

"So did you guys find anything interesting?" Yoruichi asked, surprising them both.

"Not really," Noba answered, his voice as monotonous as ever.

"So how long is she gonna be like this?" Ririn wondered, stretching out and laying on her stomach on top of the girl's chest, propping her oversized bird head in her hands and kicking her boot-clad feet languidly through the air.

"It will probably be another day before she's fully recovered," Yoruichi told her, hopping off of her perch that was now being taken over by the two loudmouthed plushies and instead sitting on the floor near Noba.

"Is she going to be staying here?" Kuroudo asked a bit hopefully. He would never admit it to the others, but he had thoroughly enjoyed being in the company of a pretty girl while assigned as Orihime's personal 'bodyguard'.

"Not if I have anything to do with it," Yoruichi mumbled under her breath, then spoke more loudly so that they could hear.

"Actually, that hasn't been decided, yet. I'm sure Kisuke will want to make sure she's going to be alright before sending her home, though, so she'll be here for at least a few days. _However._.."

She put an intentionally strong emphasis on that word, letting them know in her tone that what she was about to say was _not_ to be ignored by any of them, or else they would face severe punishment. She waited until they had all turned their attention fully toward her, then began wagging her tail in a threatening manner as she spoke.

"Once she is awake, the three of you are to make sure you _do not_ alert her of your existence. I will also refrain from speaking while in this form whenever I am in her presence. The less secrets she knows about all of us, the better."

"Geez, paranoid much?" Ririn retorted, earning herself a death glare from Yoruichi. "Alright, alright. We promise we'll behave like brainless stuffed animals when she's around. Right, guys?"

"Promise," Kuroudo said, placing one of his long ears over his heart and the other up in the air as if swearing to a solemn oath.

"Okay," Noba agreed, as well.

"_But_..." Ririn began, her voice oozing with sweetness, "if you need someone to guard her until she wakes up, we'd be happy to help. We don't get tired _nearly_ as fast as humans do, plus we still have our powers and we can use them in case she tries anything funny."

"_Not _going to happen," Yoruichi immediately shot down the idea.

"Fine," Ririn grumbled, folding her wings before her and resting her chin upon them as she continued watching the girl's face, pouting slightly.

The four of them sat silently for a long time, and Yoruichi closed her eyes as she marveled at the quiet. Usually, when the three of them were around, there was nothing but constant noise – mostly because of Ririn and Kuroudo, since Noba rarely spoke at all. She wondered if maybe they were practicing for when the girl finally woke up, and hoped that they took her orders seriously. Even if the girl _wasn't_ dangerous, Yoruichi knew that being confronted with three 'live' stuffed animals and a talking cat could cause a lot of mental damage to someone who wasn't used to dealing with paranormal things on a daily basis.

Suddenly, the two plushies sitting on top of the girl jumped and let out small noises of surprise. Yoruichi opened her eyes and regarded them curiously, seeing that Ririn had pulled herself up so she was sitting on her knees and pointing a wing at the girl while Kuroudo had covered his mouth with both of his ears as one would with their hands when shocked.

"What is it?" Yoruichi asked, padding around to the girl's side and hopping back up onto her stomach so she could poke her head between the two of them and see whatever they were looking at.

"I think she's waking up!" Ririn whispered. The three of them leaned closer to the girl's face as Noba stood from where he was sitting above her head and also leaned forward to get a better look. For a moment, it seemed as though they might have just imagined it, but then the girl moaned softly, scrunching her face up a bit.

"You three, get out of here," Yoruichi ordered in a harsh whisper. "And go tell Kisuke she's waking up."

"Roger!" the three of them replied in unison, Ririn and Kuroudo saluting her before they all scrambled out of the room and went looking for Urahara in order to relay Yoruichi's message.

Meanwhile, Yoruichi repositioned herself to her previous stance atop the girl's chest, tail neatly tucked around her legs, and put on her best 'curious kitty' expression as she waited for the young woman to fully regain consciousness.

It didn't take long, and after a minute or so she finally cracked open her eyes, then squeezed them shut almost immediately as they were assaulted by the bright light overhead. With a sigh, she lifted one of her hands to shield her face before fully opening her eyes and lifting her head slightly to find a black cat sitting on top of her, watching her with its head tilted to one side. She blinked a few times, then lowered her hand from her forehead and stroked the cat, earning a content purr as she muttered something in a language unfamiliar to Yoruichi's ears.

Kisuke walked into the room a moment later and stopped dead in his tracks, the confusion on his face largely concealed within the shadows of his hat. Grey-green eyes turned toward him, frightened and confused, and she pulled the comforter up high to cover herself up to her chin.

"Don't worry, I'm not going to hurt you," he assured her, slowly approaching her and kneeling down next to her. He nudged his hat up in order to let her better see his face, and gave her a kind smile to help ease her nerves. After a moment, she slowly lowered the comforter once more and smiled back at him.

"My name is Kisuke Urahara," he introduced himself, placing a hand upon his chest and giving her a polite bow. "May I ask what yours is?"

"Daria," the girl replied. "Daria Novikov."


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter Five

Kisuke quietly took in Daria's appearance as she pulled herself up into a sitting position, causing Yoruichi to have to abandon the spot she'd taken up on her chest in favor of sitting on the floor next to him. The girl was still fair-skinned, but not nearly as deathly pale as she had been when Ichigo first brought her to the shop. Her hair cascaded halfway down her back, and was a much lighter shade of brown now that it had dried out, with some natural golden highlights that shimmered under the lighting as she moved. Long lashes framed her green eyes, and she blinked them several times as she regarded him curiously, a spark of fear still evident on her face.

"Novikov, huh?" he mused, and she nodded silently in response. "That's a very Russian-sounding name."

"I am originally from Russia," she told him. Her Japanese was strangely accented, as was the case with most foreigners, but otherwise excellent.

"Do you mind if I call you Daria?" he asked her. "Or would you prefer Miss Novikov?"

"Daria is fine," she replied as she looked around the room. "Where am I, anyway?"

"This is my home," Kisuke told her. "I own the shop downstairs, as well. Do you remember what happened to you?"

Daria sighed a bit and closed her eyes, her brow furrowing in concentration as she tried to remember the last thing that had happened to her before she lost consciousness.

She had been walking home from the market, not really paying much attention to her surroundings, when suddenly there was a strange sort of howling noise nearby. Frightened, she had stopped walking and turned toward the direction the sound had come from and found herself face-to-face with a huge creature with a white, skeletal-looking face and long claws. At first she remained completely still, hoping that if she didn't move it wouldn't notice her, but the creature lunged at her instead. Daria had jumped backward in an attempt to avoid the strike, but the creature managed to catch her side with its sharp claws.

Gasping softly, her eyes flew open and she threw back the comforter, lifting the oversized t-shirt bearing some sort of logo that she was wearing and checking for the wounds the creature had inflicted upon her.

"I don't understand..." she whispered, running her fingers gingerly over the flawless skin. "That thing... it... I was..."

"It was just a scratch," Kisuke assured her. "We treated you once you got here."

"Bullshit," she said, her eyes meeting his angrily. "I _felt_ that thing's claws sink into me. I _felt_ them rip right through my body."

Kisuke frowned a bit. So she _did_ remember being attacked by the hollow... Moreover, she was apparently able to see it, as well. He had hoped she didn't have the ability to see them, which would have made it _much_ easier to convince her that she had imagined what happened to her. He supposed he could always just use a kikanshinki on her, but first he needed to determine if she knew anything else.

"Do you remember what happened after you were attacked?" he asked her, trying to change the subject so he wouldn't have to explain how her wounds had healed so quickly.

"I blacked out pretty quickly after that," she told him. "But I remember these two people... It sounded like a guy and a girl. I didn't really see them, though."

"And that's all you remember?"

"That's all," she said, nodding. "How long have I been here, anyway?"

"The young man you heard brought you here yesterday," he informed her.

Daria blinked in disbelief upon hearing she had only been unconscious for _one day_. She had looked at her wounds briefly before passing out, and there was _no way_ they could have healed that quickly. Furthermore, she still didn't know what that thing that attacked her had been or where it had come from.

"How... How am I still alive?" she asked quietly, speaking more to herself than to the man kneeling next to her.

Kisuke let out a sigh and sat down on the floor, lowering his head and pulling his hat back down over his face as he spoke.

"There are things in this world that most people never see or even know exist," he began, choosing his words carefully. He didn't want to make the poor girl even more frightened by coming across as a raving mad lunatic.

"I believe that," Daria said calmly, and he lifted his head to peer at her from the shadows of his hat.

"What you saw – that thing that attacked you – is what's known as a hollow," he told her. "Hollows were once simply the spirits of those who have passed on but, unable to rest in peace, they lingered around this mortal plane until their grief and loneliness corrupted them and turned them into something far more sinister than a mere ghost."

"That's the first time I've ever seen anything like that," she replied, taking everything he was telling her extremely well. He had really expected her to think he was insane, talking about ghosts and evil spirits.

"Most people _can't_ see them," he clarified for her. "Only those who are sensitive to spiritual entities are able to. Incidentally, those are also the people that the hollows prefer to attack. Some can see a faint outline or sense the presence of a hollow without being able to see it clearly, but those who can actually see one _completely_ are usually quite rare."

"Usually?" Daria wondered.

"Let's just say that Karakura Town throws off the curve a bit," he told her with a small smirk, not wanting to divulge too much information right away.

"So this hollow thing attacked me because I was able to see it?" she asked him, and Kisuke nodded in reply. "That thing was _huge_. How were those two people I heard able to get away from it?"

"Those two people were Ichigo Kurosaki and Rukia Kuchiki," he answered, earning a sharp meow from Yoruichi. He glanced at her out of the corner of his eye, silently telling her it was alright, then continued speaking. "They're shinigami: spiritual beings who help those who have died pass on to the Soul Society – the afterlife, if you will – as well as defeat hollows in order to cleanse the corruption from the souls within them, thus allowing them to pass on peacefully, as well."

"So they're not human?"

"Ichigo is," Kisuke informed her. "He's sort of a special case, but that's a bit of a long story. Really, he's just a normal high school kid."

"A high school kid who goes around killing monsters no one can see. That's _real_ normal," Daria remarked a bit sarcastically, causing his lips to curl upward in a small smile. Perhaps he should have worded it differently.

"So those two killed that hollow, then brought me here?" she asked, putting the pieces of the puzzle together in her mind.

"That's right," he said. "After you arrived, my friend tended to your wounds and I gave you a special potion to help you heal."

"Who _are_ you people?" The question came out in a slightly accusatory tone, her eyes narrowing a bit at him.

"Me? Well, I'm just a simple but handsome shopkeeper," he answered a bit flirtatiously, looking up at her with half-lidded eyes and a smile. Yoruichi jumped into his lap, sinking her claws into his thigh, and he jumped a bit as he let out a yelp of pain, causing Daria to laugh.

"Looks like someone wants attention," she said, reaching over and scratching the cat behind its ear. Yoruichi leaned into the touch and purred, secretly glaring at Kisuke as Daria continued to fawn over her.

Kisuke watched as Daria's small hand smoothed over the dark fur on Yoruichi's back and saw that it was trembling ever so slightly. His gaze moved back up to her face and he studied her closely, but no longer detected any hint of fear in her eyes. In fact, she looked quite content as she continued to pet Yoruichi, speaking quietly about what a 'good, sweet kitty' she was.

_If only you knew..._ Kisuke thought, smirking as he brought one of his hands up to pat Yoruichi's head.

"Are you hungry?" he asked, thinking her trembling was probably due to her not having eaten in at least twenty-four hours. She nodded silently and he lifted Yoruichi up off his lap and placed her in Daria's before getting to his feet and going to the open doorway.

"Ururu!" he called, and within moments the small girl was standing before him, eager to serve whatever purpose was asked of her. "Could you please bring our guest something to eat?"

"She's awake?" Ururu asked, her wide blue eyes growing even bigger in surprise. Kisuke nodded, and the girl skipped around him and stood in the doorway, bowing politely before the woman sitting up in the bed.

"Welcome to our home," she said, respectfully. "My name is Ururu Tsumugiya."

"It's very nice to meet you, Ururu," Daria said in response, giving the child a kind smile. "My name is Daria."

Ururu smiled and rushed off to the kitchen, and Kisuke chuckled a bit at how happy she seemed. She never would have admitted it, but she had been almost as worried as Ichigo that Daria wouldn't survive. He had looked in on her the previous night while she was keeping watch over Daria and found her kneeling next to her, head bowed and hands clasped together in silent prayer. As tough a fighter as she was when it came to protecting those she cared about, Ururu was really a sweet and gentle girl who never wished harm on anyone.

He turned to look back into the room, where Daria had resumed playing with Yoruichi, and found her dangling a necklace she was wearing around her neck in front of the cat's nose. Yoruichi swatted at the large emerald that hung from the long golden chain with one of her paws, and Kisuke wondered just how long she planned to keep up the ruse. He supposed she had her reasons.

What was even more jarring than seeing Yoruichi acting like a playful little kitten, though, was the fact that Daria's reiatsu had completely changed. There was no longer any trace of that darkness he and Yoruichi – and possibly Renji, based on the way he was cowering in the corner when they relieved him of his watch duty – had felt. It was almost as if they had simply imagined it being there.

Something was definitely not right about this girl, and he'd be damned if he let her get away from him before he figured out exactly what it was.

* * *

><p>Yoruichi padded silently down the dark hallway, listening carefully to the sounds around her. Everyone in the house was asleep. She could hear the soft murmuring of Ururu in her room, and Jinta talking in his sleep next door – apparently dreaming of being a baseball player, again. Tessai was snoring, as usual, and the sound of slow, even breathing could be heard coming from the room Daria was in. The only person who sounded like they might be awake was Kisuke.<p>

Curious about what he was up to so late at night, she morphed out of her cat form and silently slid open the door to his room before changing forms once again and sneaking inside. The room was pitch black, but her feline vision allowed her to see just fine in the darkness. She found Kisuke sitting cross-legged in the middle of the room, eyes closed and head bowed, lost in meditation.

"What are you doing?" she asked, sitting down in front of him.

"Examining her reiatsu," he replied without moving. Even though she hadn't made a single noise coming into his room, he had still been able to detect her presence. "I'm sure you've noticed the difference since she woke up, as well."

"I did," Yoruichi told him, nodding slightly.

"So I am trying to find out _where_, exactly, that darkness we felt went," he said, then sighed. "But I'm not having much luck, I'm afraid. Perhaps I should try from inside her room. It was much easier to keep tabs on her yesterday, when I could easily feel it from here."

"_That's_ why you wanted to put her in the room across from yours?" Yoruichi asked, blinking in surprise. "So that you could monitor her reiatsu?"

"Yes, although I was just intending to do so in case she ended up taking a turn for the worse," he explained. "That way I could quickly take the appropriate measures. But once we felt that darkness within her, I knew I had to keep an eye on it. Why else would I have put her in there?"

Yoruichi gave him a look that said, '_You know why_,' but refrained from making any comments. Instead, she remained thoughtfully silent for a long while, just listening to the sounds within the house.

"Kisuke?" she finally said after several minutes had passed.

"Yes?"

"Did you see that necklace she was wearing?" she asked, and he finally opened his eyes and looked up at her.

"The one she was playing with you with?" he asked in reply. Yoruichi nodded. "What about it?"

"There was some sort of symbol engraved into the face of the emerald," Yoruichi told him. "I don't know what it is, but I get the feeling I've seen it before, somewhere."

"What did it look like?" he questioned her, watching her tiny cat face scrunch up in concentration.

"It looked like two crosses... One was upright, and the other was at an downward angle, running diagonal from left to right with the top of the cross being at the bottom. The upright cross had an open circle connected to the bottom, and the other one had what looked like a V connected to the bottom of it."

Kisuke listened carefully to the description, mentally drawing the symbol in his mind. Yoruichi was right, it _did_ seem somehow familiar. However, he was having just as little luck remembering where he had seen it as he was having trying to sense the dark reiatsu within Daria.

"I'll ask her about the necklace in the morning," he said.

"No," Yoruichi protested. "You can't, Kisuke."

"Why not?" he asked, confused.

"How are you going to explain how you even know about it?"

"I saw her using it to play with you, remember?" he reminded her.

"Yes, but you weren't nearly close enough to see that symbol on it," she argued. "How are you going to explain knowing about it being there?"

"I could always say a certain little kitty told me," he suggested in a teasing voice. Yoruichi swiped her claws across the back of his hand, causing him to hiss a bit in pain.

"Idiot! In case you haven't realized, I don't _want_ her to know I can talk," she scolded him. "Let her think I'm just some normal house cat."

"Why? I think she can handle it," he said, shrugging his shoulders. "She took the news about the hollows rather well, in my opinion."

"Yes, a little _too_ well, if you ask me," Yoruichi practically growled. "A normal human's response to hearing a story like that is denial that such a thing could ever really exist."

"Perhaps she's just open-minded about the occult," Kisuke tried to reason with her.

"Or perhaps she's in league with Aizen and _already_ knows all about the hollows," Yoruichi spat back, completely ignoring the earlier message from Captain-Commander Yamamoto in favor of her gut instinct. "She could just be playing you, Kisuke, and you'd never know it because you always want to protect pretty girls in distress."

Kisuke's eyes narrowed slightly. Yoruichi had just crossed a line by questioning his judgement. Yes, he had made mistakes in the past in his calculations. He still felt guilty for not figuring out sooner that Orihime's capture had been a ruse to trap Ichigo and the others in Hueco Mundo in an attempt to keep them out of battle during the Winter War. But he always had at least one backup plan, and she should know him well enough by now to realize that.

"My instincts tell me she wasn't putting on an act," he said, a touch of anger in his voice.

"And _mine_ say she's dangerous and can't be trusted," Yoruichi replied. "Either way, we need to find out about that necklace."

"So how do you propose we do that?" he asked her, wondering what her plan was if she wasn't going to let him be the one to do the asking, knowing she likely already had one.

"You just leave it to me," she said, her golden-yellow cat's eyes gleaming confidently. "I'll get to the bottom of this."


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter Six

Daria was awoken by the sound of a soft, almost hesitant knocking on her bedroom door. If she hadn't already been half-awake, she never would have heard it. Sitting up, she rubbed the sleep from her eyes and ran her fingers back through her hair in a vain attempt to get it into some sort of presentable style. Sighing, she straightened the comforter over her legs and told whoever was at the door to come in.

"Excuse me, Miss Daria," Ururu said timidly, sliding open the door and stepping inside. Her arms were laden with a large tray full of food, which she laid down on the floor next to Daria before rushing back out into the hall. Daria blinked, wondering why she had left so quickly, but a moment later the girl was back, this time carrying a basin full of water and a small assortment of shaped soaps in a basket, a towel thrown over her shoulder. She placed the items near the bed and hurried from the room once more, returning again after only a few seconds with a set of neatly folded clothes in her hands.

"Mr. Kisuke asked me to bring you these things," she told the woman, holding out the clothes to her. Daria took them, smiling. "You can eat whatever you prefer, and then you can wash up using whichever of these pretty soaps you like. I'm sorry about your other dress, though. Mr. Uryuu couldn't fix it, but he made you these new clothes, instead."

"Thank you, Ururu," Daria said, setting the clothes aside. As she turned back toward the girl, she noticed that she wore a shirt bearing the same logo as the one she currently had on.

"_This is my home. I own the shop downstairs, as well._"

The man's words repeated in her mind, and she realized the logo must be for the shop. And since it was _his_ home, then that must mean...

"Ururu, did Mr. Urahara change my clothes?" she asked, her eyes going a bit wide as it suddenly dawned on her that he had been the only adult she'd seen in the house since waking up. She thought of the way he had looked at her, the intensity in his grey eyes, and wondered if underneath that seemingly kind exterior there lay a sexual predator.

"No, Miss Yoruichi did," Ururu answered, her dark ponytails bobbing a bit as she shook her head.

"Miss Yoruichi?" Daria asked, wondering who this person was.

"She's Mr. Kisuke's lady friend," Ururu explained. "She lives here, too."

So he had a live-in girlfriend? He certainly didn't _act_ like he was in a committed relationship, the way he had so obviously flirted with her. She wondered if the cat belonged to his girlfriend, since it seemed to pick up on the tone of his voice and sink its claws into his leg when he'd turned on the charm.

Sighing a bit, she began to eat the breakfast that had been prepared for her. Ururu stayed to keep her company, bringing over the basket of soaps to help her choose one. The girl showed her her favorite one – a yellow bar shaped like a rubber duck, complete with an orange beak and a painted-on eye. Daria ended up selecting a pink bar shaped like a conch shell.

"Well, it's good that I've caught you while you're still decent," Kisuke said, standing in the doorway. Ururu blushed a little, realizing she had forgotten to close the door after bringing everything into the room.

"I trust everything is to your satisfaction?" he asked, stepping into the room and going over to where the two of them sat, patting Ururu on the head in a comforting manner. Daria knew the two of them weren't related, but she sensed a strong father-daughter bond between the two of them.

"Everything is wonderful, thank you," she replied quietly, and Kisuke turned his head slightly to look at her, surprised by the underlying sadness he heard in her voice. Her eyes were closed, her head lowered slightly almost as if she was in mourning.

"Is something wrong, Daria?" he wondered, his voice just as quiet as hers had been. She immediately opened her eyes and looked up at him, smiling as she shook her head, but he could see it in her eyes that she was lying. He opened his mouth, about to call her on it, but decided against putting her on the spot. He figured she'd been through enough, lately.

The black cat from the day before wandered into the room, taking a seat on the floor next to the tray of food which Daria had mostly consumed, and meowed loudly as it looked up at him.

"Alright, alright... I'm going," he said in mock indignation, smiling as he winked at Daria before leaving the bedroom and sliding the door shut behind him.

"Are you sure everything's okay, Miss Daria?" Ururu asked, her blue eyes full of concern. Daria's smile fell a bit as she turned to the girl.

"You two are really close, huh?" she asked, referring to the relationship the girl had with her employer.

Ururu nodded. "Jinta and I don't have any family, so Mr. Kisuke and Mr. Tessai took us both in. Oh!" she gasped, knowing she hadn't yet met the other man. "Mr. Tessai is the one who healed you. He also does all the cooking."

"Well, be sure to tell him thank you, and that his cooking is delicious," Daria told her.

"You can thank him when you see him downstairs," Ururu informed her. "After you're all dressed, Mr. Kisuke wants us to go down to the sitting room so you can meet everyone."

_Just how many people live in this house_? Daria wondered.

Nodding, Daria stood from the bed and made her way over to the water basin, pulling off her shirt as she crossed the room. Thankfully, she had discovered that whoever had undressed her had left her underwear on her. She was still a bit relieved to hear that she had been undressed by a woman, though. Not that she was a prude, but she just didn't like the idea of a strange man touching her naked body while she was unconscious.

"That's a pretty necklace," Ururu said as she stood next to Daria, holding the soft towel for her until she was ready for it. Daria splashed some water onto her face and turned toward the girl, opening her eyes and causing a few droplets to drip from her lashes onto her cheek, then looked down at the emerald hanging from her neck and lifted it up to allow her to look more closely at it.

"You like it?" she asked, and Ururu nodded. "It was a gift from my father. He died when I was a baby."

"Oh..." Ururu said sadly, now knowing what had been bothering the woman before. She had never known her own father, so seeing Kisuke treating her like his own daughter must have reminded her of how painful it was growing up without him. The girl reached out with one of her small hands and took the jewel Daria was holding out to her. It was irregularly-shaped, not square like most emeralds one saw in a jewelry store, and on the largest flat surface there was a symbol etched into the stone.

"What does this mean?" she asked, running her thumb over the strange carving. It looked exactly the way Yoruichi had described to her.

"It's a Nordic rune," Daria explained. "It means 'protection'. I haven't taken it off since the day I got it, although I'm beginning to doubt just how effective it is, now."

Ururu looked up at her face and found her genuinely smiling, the grief in her eyes replaced by a subtle humorous spark. Ururu smiled, feeling much better herself now that she no longer seemed sad. Daria reached up and ruffled the girl's hair, then returned to washing up, and Ururu cast a glance across the room at where Yoruichi was sitting. The cat nodded and she went back to attending to Daria, handing her the towel when she requested it and fetching the clothes for her when she asked for them.

"I hate to be a bother," she said as she pulled the frilly white blouse on over her head and tied the dark blue ribbon at the neck into a bow. "Do you happen to have a hairbrush I can use? I'd really hate to go meet a bunch of people looking like this," she added, pointing to her knotted hair. "And an elastic of some sort would be nice, as well."

"Of course!" Ururu replied, eager to help however she could. She rushed from the room, Yoruichi following her, and paused at the door of her own room, turning back to address the feline.

"Did I do good, Miss Yoruichi?" she asked.

"_Very_ good, Ururu," Yoruichi assured her, nodding. "Thank you for your help."

"Any time," the girl replied with a smile before disappearing into her room to retrieve her hair brush and an extra elastic for Daria.

Yoruichi went back down the hall and peeked in through Daria's open door, making sure she wasn't able to see out into the hallway before reverting to her human form and slipping into Kisuke's room to retrieve her clothes. She would have liked to remain in her other form so as to avoid the restricting attire, but she had some questions for Miss Daria Novikov that she wanted to ask her, personally.

* * *

><p>Daria blinked in shock at the number of people seated around the low table in the large sitting room downstairs. Surely, not <em>all<em> of them lived at this shop? Aside from the shopkeeper and Ururu, there were eight other people in the room, each vastly different in appearance. Next to Ururu sat a boy roughly the same age with short red hair, wearing a shirt with an identical logo on the front – Jinta, she assumed, remembering what Ururu had said about the two men who ran the shop having taken in two children. Between Jinta and Ururu sat a gruff-looking man with glasses and a large mustache, wearing a dark blue apron with the first symbol for the 'Urahara Shop' logo in yellow on it. Based on what she had heard, she figured this must be Tessai, the man who healed her. The others, though... she had no idea who they were. She assumed two of them must be the shinigami who had saved her from that hollow, but there were two girls and four other men present so she had no idea which two they were.

"Excuse me," came a female voice from behind her, and Daria turned around to find a woman with dark skin, unusual golden eyes, and long purple hair pulled up into a high ponytail standing behind her. Daria muttered an apology and stepped fully into the room and over to the side, standing against the wall by the doorway with her hands clasped together in front of her. The woman walked by and took a seat at the table across from Kisuke, putting her between a young man with spiky orange hair and another boy with dark hair and glasses.

"That outfit looks wonderful on you," the boy with the glasses remarked, smiling proudly as he looked her over.

Daria looked down at the ensemble that had been brought for her to wear: A white blouse with lace trim around the collar and cap sleeves and a blue ribbon accent at the neck, and a knee-length skirt made of light blue material with darker blue crosses printed on it. It wasn't what she would normally choose to wear, herself, but it has been expertly tailored and fit her perfectly. The proud look on the boy's face meant he must be the one named Uryuu.

"Can you ever make _anything_ that doesn't have that stupid Quincy cross all over it?" asked the boy with the orange hair, and Daria immediately recognized his voice as the one belonging to one of her rescuers. Which meant that he must be Ichigo Kurosaki.

"Hey!" shot back Uryuu angrily. "Just because I have pride in being a Quincy doesn't mean you get to ridicule my work!"

"Now, now," Kisuke said, waving his hands to attempt to calm them down. "Can we please not fight in front of our guest?" The two boys glared at each other briefly around the woman sitting between them, then looked away from one another with a huff.

"Allow me to make the introductions," Kisuke continued once the fight had been broken up. "Everyone, this is Daria Novikov. Now... You've already met Ururu. This is Tessai Tsukabishi and Jinta Hanakari," he told her, going around the table to his left.

"I figured as much from what Ururu told me," Daria replied with a smile, bowing deeply to the large man. "I wanted to thank you for what you did to help me, Mr. Tsukabishi."

Tessai nodded. "You are very welcome, Miss Daria. I'm glad that I could help. And please, Tessai will be fine."

"Next we have Renji Abarai, who's also currently staying here," Kisuke stated, picking up where he had left off and gesturing toward a young man with a bright red ponytail and numerous tattoos that made him look a bit like a street thug. "He's a shinigami, as well as Rukia and Ichigo, who I told you about earlier. Next to Ichigo is another resident of the Urahara Shop, Yoruichi Shihouin."

So the dark-skinned woman was his girlfriend. She narrowed her golden eyes at Daria slightly, arms crossed tightly over her chest, and Daria averted her eyes from the woman, reaching behind her head to run her hand along the length of the ponytail she had pulled her hair back into in a nervous fashion.

"Finally, we have Uryuu Ishida, Yasutora Sado – also known as Chad – and Orihime Inoue, who go to school with Ichigo," Kisuke concluded, gesturing toward the boy with glasses, a large, very muscular young man with messy dark hair, and a rather well-endowed girl with long auburn hair held back from her face by a pair of hair clips with flowers on them. The girl smiled and waved at Daria, and she hesitantly waved back.

"So, now that that's out of the way... Please, have a seat," Kisuke requested, patting the spot next to him. Daria cast a wary glance at Yoruichi and reluctantly sat down next to him. She noticed that Renji scooted back from the table several inches as she sat down and wondered what his problem was, deciding to ask him later once the others had left.

"It's good to see you recovered so quickly," Orihime said cheerfully, leaning toward her a bit as she spoke.

"Yeah," Ichigo agreed, the slightest bit of a smile tugging at his lips. "You don't even _look_ like someone who was nearly killed by a hollow."

"We're all glad she's recovered, _right_?" Kisuke asked, looking pointedly at Yoruichi, who didn't respond.

"What were those things that showed up when you were attacked?" she asked bluntly, glaring at him as she spoke before turning her attention to Daria.

"It... It was a hollow, wasn't it?" Daria answered, looking to Kisuke to back her up.

"Yoruichi-san," he said her name, the tone of his voice a warning. Yoruichi slammed her open hands down on top of the table, causing nearly everyone to jump.

"Dammit, Kisuke, you _know_ she has something to do with this!" she yelled at him. "I let you play nice with her yesterday, since she just woke up, but now it is time for some answers."

"What is she talking about, Urahara?" Uryuu asked, pushing his glasses up with one finger as he cringed away from the noise.

Kisuke sighed and crossed his arms over his chest, his hands disappearing in the sleeves of his overcoat.

"Ichigo and Rukia encountered a new type of enemy creature when they rescued Daria from the hollow that attacked her," he stated.

"And neither we, nor anyone within the Soul Society can figure out what they are," Yoruichi continued. "However, this girl _must_ know something about them."

"Me?" Daria asked, blinking in surprise as the woman looked at her accusingly. "I don't have a clue what you're talking about, I swear!"

"Black humanoid figures with sharp black teeth and glowing red eyes."

Yoruichi continued to stare her down as she described them, as much for those there who hadn't yet heard about these strange creature as for the purpose of cornering the girl into a lie. Daria's eyes began to show the slightest amount of fear and she clenched her hands together into fists to keep them from shaking as she stood up, steadily holding the other woman's cold gaze.

"Again, I don't know what the hell you're talking about," she repeated, her voice wavering slightly. "And I refuse to stay here and be subjected to this inquisition." She turned toward Kisuke and bowed slightly, then addressed him directly.

"Mr. Urahara, thank you for your hospitality, but I must be going now. It was nice to meet you all," she said to the others. "Mr. Ishida, thank you for the new clothes. Good bye."

She turned on her heel and stalked out of the room, and they listened as she walked out through the shop at the front of the building and shut the door hard behind her. Kisuke glared across the table at Yoruichi, who had once again crossed her arms over her chest.

"She was lying about not knowing what they are," she told him with an air of superiority.

"Oh? And what proof do you have of that?" Kisuke asked her almost mockingly.

"Did you see how frightened she was when I told her we knew what they looked like?" she replied. "She was scared because she knows we'll eventually find evidence to tie their appearance to her."

"_Or_ she was scared to death because you were accusing her of something she knows nothing about, and not being very _nice_ about it, I might add," he argued.

"Guys!" Ichigo shouted, holding up both hands to stop their fighting. "She mentioned that hollow like she knows what they are."

"I told her about them," Kisuke admitted, "as well as about you and Rukia being shinigami and what you do."

"She can _see_ hollows?" Rukia asked, a note of urgency in her voice.

"Yes, but I..."

Kisuke's voice trailed off as he realized what the two of them had been getting at: Daria could see hollows. Which meant she possessed the kind of reiatsu they liked to feed on the most. And she had just left the safety of the Urahara Shop in a heightened emotional state, which meant they would be even _more _drawn to her.

"Let's go!" Ichigo said, using his combat pass to release his soul from his body. Renji and Rukia followed suit, using their Soul Candy, and the three shinigami hurried out of the store to find Daria before she could get attacked again.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter Seven

Daria strode briskly down the street, swearing to herself in her native tongue, glad to finally be rid of that place and the people in it. Not that she thought badly of _all_ of them – some of them she'd only just met, after all, while a few others she owed her life to. However, a certain purple-haired bad apple had spoiled the whole bunch for her.

A part of her regretted leaving, though. As uncomfortable as she felt being around so many new faces, Daria had also felt that she was safe within that house. The shopkeeper, even though he was a bit strange, had been nothing but nice to her. His partner, though large and imposing, had kind eyes, and Ururu had been such a sweet girl that it pained her to leave in such an abrupt and angry manner. But she had been scared, and so she fled.

That woman – Yoruichi – was certainly someone Daria did _not_ want to mess with. There was something almost predatory in her eyes when she accused her of knowing what those things were, and Daria could only imagine how she would have reacted to finding out her boyfriend had been flirting with another woman. It made her glad she hadn't stuck around long enough to apologize for it on his behalf like she had originally intended.

Sighing heavily, she stopped for a moment and looked around, taking in her current surroundings and attempting to figure out where, exactly, she was. She didn't know which route she had been taken from where she lost consciousness, and the shop had been tucked away so well that it was a wonder _anyone_ could ever find it. Of course, she assumed that was probably just the way the owner liked it. She decided to just keep walking, figuring she would eventually hit a part of town she recognized and could find her way home from there.

"Are you lost, little girl?"

Daria stopped at the sound of the voice, deep and raspy like an old man's, and turned toward the speaker to ask him what street she was on in the hopes that he could give her directions. Once she was facing the direction the question had come from, however, she froze. Standing before her was a tall, skinny creature with sickly green slimy skin and webbed hands and feet, wearing one of those skeletal-looking white masks. It looked entirely different from the one that had attacked her before, but she knew it had to be another of those hollow things Kisuke had told her about.

"Come now," it said, taking a step toward her. "Why don't you let me help you find your way? Or you could just come home with me?"

"No, thank you," she replied, taking a large step backward each time it advanced toward her, until she found herself backed up against the stone wall of a building.

"Oh well," the hollow – which Daria thought looked sort of like a like a frog that could walk upright – sighed a bit melodramatically. "I guess we'll have to do this the hard way, then."

The creature lunged toward her with an open mouth and Daria took off running down the alley, narrowly escaping being captured between its massive jaws. Laughing, the hollow immediately gave pursuit, calling after her as it skipped along behind her, easily keeping up with her pace.

"Don't be like that," it called after her. "I just want to eat your soul. I promise it won't hurt... much."

Daria just ran faster, wondering what on earth she had done to deserve these things wanting to kill her so badly. Spying a side street up ahead, she quickly changed direction at the last second and the hollow had to struggle to stop in time to make the turn, it's size making maneuvering at such speeds a bit cumbersome. For a moment, Daria felt like she might be able to outrun the creature as it had fallen behind a bit. However, a moment later she felt a sickening, wet sensation run up her right arm. Looking down, she found what appeared to be a long, thin tongue running along her skin and she chanced a glance back over her shoulder and discovered that the hollow was already starting to catch up to her once more.

"Didn't think you could lose me that easily, did you?" it asked tauntingly, flicking its tongue out to lick her arm again. "Mmm... Tasty."

Tears stung her eyes as she continued running as fast as she could, her legs starting to ache and her chest beginning to burn from the exertion. She took another corner, but stopped short when she discovered she had been cornered into a dead end.

"Finally," the hollow said, sounding a bit out of breath, as well. "There's no getting away now, girl."

Daria pressed herself flat with her back against the wall, whimpering a bit and shutting her eyes tightly as she cursed herself for losing her temper and storming away from the Urahara Shop. She silently told her parents she'd be with them soon, waiting for the inevitable pain that would come when that horrid creature finally struck its fatal blow. She counted out the long seconds, cringing when she heard the high-pitched, inhuman screams of the hollow before it was about to attack, but the blow she had been expecting never came.

"What the?" the hollow yelled. "Get off me!"

Daria opened her eyes, hoping to find Ichigo or Rukia clinging to the hollow's back, and her blood ran cold. Sinking its sharp teeth into the creature's right shoulder was a black figure with glowing red eyes. Another, identical figure was perched on top of its head, attempting to gouge one of its eyes out with a shriveled hand. Daria was frozen on the spot as she watched in horror.

"No..." she whispered, shaking her head slowly as her eyes gradually got wider. "It can't be."

She hadn't wanted to believe it, although she knew it had to be true. The description that Yoruichi had rattled off had been far too close to what she remembered for them not to be the same creatures. Scared motionless, she watched as the two dark figures continued their assault on the hollow, and didn't even notice the third one approaching her until it was a mere foot away, bent over in an almost unnatural position as it looked at her with its sinister eyes, making a low rumbling sound in its throat.

Her survival instincts suddenly kicked back in, and Daria screamed as she side-stepped around the dark creature and made a run for it, maneuvering around the hollow as it continued trying to shake off the other two creatures that were still attacking it. She ran back the way she had come as fast as she could, looking back over her shoulder to see if any of the monsters were pursuing her and finding that, to her immense relief, they weren't. Turning back ahead of her, she ran straight into another black figure and cried out as she felt herself being knocked backward off her feet.

"Woah," Ichigo said, catching her quickly before she could crack her skull open on the ground. "It's okay, Daria. It's just us."

Daria opened her eyes and found Ichigo, Rukia, and Renji all standing there, dressed in black and carrying swords. She guessed this was probably how they dressed when they did their duties as shinigami, since she highly doubted they would be carrying weapons in the open in broad daylight, otherwise.

"Is it a hollow?" Renji asked, looking off in the direction she had come from.

"Yes, and those... those things," she told them, gasping a bit. "Three of them."

"Leave them to us," Ichigo said, helping her to stand back up. "Renji, come with me. Rukia, you stay here and guard Daria in case any of them gets away and tries to come after her."

"Got it," Rukia replied with a nod, pulling her zanpakutou from its sheath and taking a defensive stance in front of Daria as the other two ran off to do battle.

"Renji, you take the little guys and I'll grab the hollow," Ichigo instructed as they followed the sounds of the hollow's infuriated yelling.

"Right," Renji said, fully expecting to find their enemies in some sort of formation when they arrived. Both of them froze as they rounded the corner and found the hollow being viciously attacked by the three shadowy beings.

"What the hell?" Renji wondered.

"Don't worry about it, just kill them!" Ichigo yelled before rushing in, Zangetsu held high over his head. The three black creatures didn't even try to attack him. They simply kept up their assault on the hollow as Ichigo swung toward its head. The hollow held up one of its arms to block the blow, with one of the creatures attached to it, and the black creature fell to the ground, screaming in agony before dying.

"Thanks," the hollow said to Ichigo. "That should make it easier for me to kill you two."

"Think again," Ichigo sneered at the hollow, readying his sword for another strike. Renji jumped up and slashed at the black creature on top of the hollow's head, nearly slicing through the hollow as he took it down. The hollow looked back at Renji and laughed.

"You missed," it taunted him.

"Yeah," Renji replied with a smirk, "but _he_ won't."

The hollow turned around just in time to see the sunlight reflecting off of Zangetsu's blade before it made contact with its head and sliced cleanly through his entire body. He let out an enraged howl as he disintegrated into the air and disappeared, and Ichigo landed on his feet with a triumphant grin on his face.

"Shit! Ichigo!" Renji swore angrily, pushing past the gloating teenager and taking off at a run back toward where they'd left Rukia and Daria.

"Hey!" Ichigo yelled indignantly, following him. "What the hell, Renji?"

A moment later he noticed the black figure a few meters ahead of them, running on all fours like some sort of wild animal. He'd entirely forgotten that Daria had said there were _three _of those things, unlike the last time he'd seen them, when there had only been two.

"Rukia!" Renji called ahead to the two women. "Look out! One's coming right for you."

"Stand back," Rukia ordered Daria as she held her sword high above her head in preparation for a strike. The creature bounded at her at full speed and she lunged toward it, intending to pierce through it with her blade, but it jumped at the last second and sailed right over her head – and straight for Daria.

"Roar, Zabimaru!" Renji yelled, whipping his zanpakutou out to its full length. The head of the blade punched right through the back of the creature and came out of its chest, and it screamed as it fell dead just shy of reaching Daria.

"Are you alright?" Rukia asked, turning around to check on the other woman. Daria was on her knees on the ground, her arms held over her head for protection, and even from several feet away Rukia could tell she was trembling.

"Hey," she said, re-sheathing her sword and going over to her, kneeling down and placing a comforting hand on her shoulder. "It's alright. You're safe, now. We got them."

Daria let out a sob, and Rukia blinked, her eyes wide. She'd just told her that she was safe, and she was crying? Perhaps they were tears of joy, but if she was that happy then why was she trembling so much?

"You think we should tell Urahara about what we saw?" Renji asked Ichigo as they approached the others.

"He'll probably want to know, yeah," Ichigo replied, sighing a bit as he flung his sword over his shoulder.

"What are you two talking about?" Rukia asked them, looking over her shoulder at them as she continued rubbing Daria's back in an attempt to comfort her.

"Nothing," Ichigo dismissed her question. "You'll find out after we get back."

Rukia narrowed her eyes a bit at him, but said nothing, instead returning her attention back to Daria, who was finally starting to calm down.

"Hey, are you alright to walk?" she asked. Daria looked up at her and nodded, wiping the tears from her cheeks with the tips of her fingers. "If not, one of us can carry you."

"It'll be faster to get back if we do that, anyway," Renji stated, pushing past Ichigo and grabbing one of Daria's hands. He pulled the woman to her feet and picked her up, and Daria blinked in confusion as she wondered if this was the same man who had seemed so afraid of her before.

"Come on, let's get out of here before any more hollows show up," he said to the others before flash stepping back to the Urahara Shop.

From within the shadows of a nearby alley, a figure watched as the other two shinigami followed their comrade. He was glad none of them had noticed him standing there, so close to their own position. He clenched his left hand tightly in a fist at his side, a trickle of blood seeping through his fingers, a bloody dagger held in his other hand as he made note of the direction the four of them had gone off in.

"Finally, Daria..." he whispered to himself, his voice weary. "I have found you."


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter Eight

Yoruichi glared at Kisuke as she sat in front of him on the low table in the sitting room. He had requested she revert back into her cat form shortly after Daria and the others had run out of the shop, saying he didn't want her intimidating the girl any further once she returned and that she should just leave the questioning to him. She had protested, of course, but all that had done was cause him to question her trust in him. It wasn't that she didn't _trust_ him, she just hated how indirect he could be sometimes. He was of the mentality that you caught more flies with honey, but she fully believed that the best way to get answers was to break some bones.

Perhaps it was a bit brutal, but she'd been the head of the Punishment Force for _decades_. It was just the way she did things. Hell, _he'd_ been in the Onmitsukidou, too, but he'd always been a bit softer than her, spouting nonsense about how those confined to imprisonment in the Maggot's Nest could "blossom if given the right opportunities." It was that very sentiment that had led to that nutjob Kurotsuchi gaining his current position as a captain, which became his by default after Kisuke went into exile.

"We're back," announced Renji as he walked in through the front door of the shop, carrying a slightly startled-looking Daria in his arms. Her eyes were wide and red-rimmed, tears staining her cheeks, and her hand clutched the front of his shihakushou so tightly that her knuckles had begun to turn white. Rukia and Ichigo entered a step behind him, and the moment they set foot inside the store a blur of dark hair sprinted past Renji, knocking him off-balance and sending him staggering backwards into some sweets.

"You're baaaack!" Chappy cheered in a sing-song voice, throwing its arms around Rukia's neck and hugging her as it hummed happily. "Did you kill the nasty-wasty hollow?"

Daria watched the scene unfolding before her, entirely dumbfounded. She was still in shock over the speed at which she'd been carried back to the shop, and now she was certain she was seeing double as Rukia was being practically strangled by herself. Renji set her down and she wavered a bit on her feet before gaining her balance, then she walked into the back room and froze when she found a second Renji lying in the middle of the floor, dozing.

"I'm guessing you didn't explain any of _this_ to her, then?" Ichigo asked as he walked past her and over to his own body, which was slumped over at the table where he had left it in his haste to go after Daria.

"I didn't see any need to, at the time," Kisuke replied, watching Daria's reaction as Ichigo got back into his body and stretched a bit, working some kinks out of his shoulder.

"What the... How..." she muttered, completely at a loss for words over what she had just witnessed.

"Ichigo can't fight hollows in a human body," Kisuke explained. "He has to be in the form of a soul in order to battle with them using his shinigami powers. Likewise, Renji and Rukia must also be in soul form in order to effectively battle hollows. However, they can't interact with most humans while in soul form. So, when they're not engaged in battle Renji and Rukia remain in these gigai – artificial bodies, if you will – which I created for them. In order to release their souls from the gigai so they can battle hollows, they swallow artificial souls in the form of something known as Soul Candy."

"See?" Rukia said, holding her hand out in front of Daria. Sitting in the center of her palm was a small, round, green pill-like object. Daria looked back over her shoulder at the female shinigami and found that the black-clad version of her had disappeared, leaving only the one that had been present earlier in the morning.

"I think I need a drink," Daria said as she slowly sat down at the table, looking a bit pale.

"I'll get it!" Ururu eagerly chirped, jumping to her feet and rushing off to the kitchen.

Kisuke continued watching Daria as she sat there, taking everything in, hiding his face behind his fan. She had taken the idea of hollows and shinigami so well that it seemed odd to him that she should be having such a hard time with the concepts of gigai and artificial souls. Then again, it also looked as if she had been crying just recently. Perhaps her ability to cope with such outrageously new ideas was compromised by her already fragile emotional state.

"Urahara," Ichigo said, pulling the man's attention away from watching the young woman as she observed Renji returning to his gigai. "Those things showed up again."

"They did?" Kisuke asked, although he didn't sound at all surprised. His eyes flickered briefly back to Daria before returning to the young man seated across from him, and he urged him to continue with a wave of his hand.

"They were attacking the hollow," Renji interrupted before Ichigo could say anything, plopping down at the table with a sigh. "It was as if they didn't even know we were there."

"We actually killed two of them as we were taking the hollow down," Ichigo added.

"How many were there this time?" Kisuke asked, recalling that Ichigo had seen two the last time.

"Three," Ichigo answered. "The third one managed to get away after we killed the hollow, and it went right after Daria."

"Which I don't get, because if they wanted her to begin with, why did they attack the hollow instead of her?" Renji wondered.

"They probably saw the hollow as competition," Kisuke hypothesized, scratching under his chin. "In order to ensure that only they would be able to kill Daria, they had to take the hollow out, first."

"But why would they want to kill her?" Ichigo asked. "I mean, _why_ _her_? There's got to be some sort of reason they're not going after anyone else."

"Um, excuse me?" Uryuu said, waiting until the three men finally turned to look at him before he continued speaking. "She's sitting right here, you know. You could try to be a little more sensitive."

"Yeah," Chad agreed.

Kisuke and the others all looked over at Daria and found her sitting with her knees pulled up to her chest, arms wrapped tightly around her legs. Orihime moved to sit a bit closer to her, reaching up and stroking the older woman's hair in a motherly way.

"It's alright, Daria," she consoled her. "Ichigo won't let those things hurt you. We'll figure out what they are and what they want, and we'll fight them together, okay?"

"I already know what they want," Daria said, her voice breaking slightly as she struggled to keep herself from crying again. "He's right, they want me dead."

"That was merely a hypothesis, nothing to be taken so seriously," Kisuke insisted in a cheerful tone, attempting to lighten the mood. Daria lifted her head, her eyes meeting his, and he could see that it was not at all a laughing matter to her.

"I lied," she told him, her voice barely above a whisper.

"Excuse me?" he replied, blinking, hoping he'd misheard her. He would never hear the end of it if Yoruichi had been right all along about her lying before when she said she had no idea what those creatures were.

"I lied before, when that Yoruichi woman asked me about the creatures Ichigo saw."

Kisuke swore in the back of his mind, his gaze traveling to the cat sitting on the table in front of him. He could almost swear he saw it giving him a satisfied smirk, as if it was saying, _I told you so_.

"I don't know what those things are," Daria continued, "but I _have_ seen one before."

"Where did you see it?" Rukia asked, a sketchpad poised on her lap as she drew a crude interpretation of the creature she had seen for a report to send to Soul Society.

"There was one of them there the night my mother was killed," she told them all. "That was... almost ten years ago," she added, pausing as she mentally calculated how much time had passed. "I was sixteen, then."

"Are you _sure _it was the same thing? How did she die? Did that thing kill her?" Ichigo asked, rapidly firing off each question at her.

"Ichigo," Kisuke said his name in a slightly warning tone. He knew the boy was just eager to get to the bottom of things, but Daria was visibly upset over the memory of losing her mother. He figured if anyone would understand, it would be Ichigo, so it surprised him that the boy was being rather insensitive given the current line of conversation.

"Sorry," Ichigo immediately apologized once he realized the way he must sound to the woman. "I lost my mom, too, when I was ten. She was killed by a hollow."

"I'm sorry to hear that, but at least you know exactly what happened," Daria told him, sounding at first sympathetic before her voice took on a bitter edge. "My mother was simply dead when I got home one day, murdered, and there was one of those... _things _there, standing over her body. It had those same glowing red eyes, that same sickening appearance of a skeleton covered in burnt flesh. I've tried to forget it over the years, but... How could someone _ever_ forget something like that? So yes, I am certain it was the same sort of creature as the ones that just tried to attack me."

"Well, I think it's pretty obvious that you're not safe out there," Uryuu concluded, crossing his arms over his chest and adjusting his glasses with one hand. "If those things killed your mom, then they must want you dead for the same reason. Until we figure that reason out, you'll be in constant danger."

"Agreed," Kisuke said, nodding. "So until we get this all figured out, you'll be staying here."

"I can't do that," Daria argued, shaking her head, her eyes widening at the thought of having to be under the same roof with that threatening woman, Yoruichi. She wasn't present at the time, but she knew if she was she would likely be protesting up a storm about letting her stay with them.

"Mr. Urahara's right," Orihime told her, placing a hand on top of hers. "This is the safest place for you, right now."

"I wouldn't want to impose," Daria countered, making the best excuse she could, knowing it was a rather lame one and would likely fall upon deaf ears.

"Nonsense," Kisuke replied, waving away her concerns with a hand. "We have the room. And it's not like we haven't taken in strays before," he added, casting a glance over at Renji.

"I am _not_ a stray," the redhead angrily retorted.

"Shut up, moocher," Jinta scolded as he walked into the room, carrying a tray full of snacks. Ururu followed him, carefully balancing a pot of tea and several cups on her own tray, with Tessai bringing up the rear. Daria sat quietly as the three of them took up their seats once more around the table and Ururu began serving the tea to each of them.

"So?" Kisuke asked after a moment, directing the question to her. "Are you going to stay voluntarily, or am I going to have to tie you up?"

Daria didn't miss the obviously suggestive undertones of his comment, and nearly choked on her tea as her gaze shot up toward him. A blush immediately rose in her cheeks in spite of not being able to see his expression, which he kept concealed behind the white fan in his right hand. The cat sitting in front of him on the table gave a low growl, and he chuckled as he reached out with his other hand to scratch it behind the ears. She couldn't tell if he had been joking or if he really was the kind of man who was into that sort of thing, but either way she didn't think Yoruichi would approve of him making such a comment.

"Everyone here is really nice," Orihime assured her, oblivious to what had just been said. "You'll be just fine."

_Sure_, Daria thought, turning to the girl and forcing a smile. _As long as Yoruichi doesn't find out her boyfriend wants to tie me up, I'll be __**just**__ fine._

"So it's settled, then," Kisuke said, closing his fan and pointing it at Daria. "You'll stay here, where we can keep you under our protection until we're able to figure out what those things are and why they're so intent on killing you."

"I do appreciate the offer, but I really can't stay here," she protested.

"Don't be stupid," Uryuu said a bit condescendingly. "Would you rather go back out there and risk getting killed?"

"What Uryuu is trying to say is that it's just too dangerous for you out there," Ichigo said, trying to diffuse the situation before Daria lost her temper and took off again. "We can't keep an eye on you and make sure you're safe if you're out wandering around where those things could attack you at any given moment."

"I'm well aware of the danger," Daria told him, "but that's not the point. I can't just drop my entire life and go into hiding. I have a _job_, you know."

"Then quit," Kisuke said nonchalantly.

"I _can't_ just quit!" she argued, her green eyes flashing as she stared him down.

"Fine, then," he acquiesced. "Go about your everyday life as if nothing was wrong. Let every person you come into contact with be put into the potential danger of being killed by those things that are after you because they had the misfortune of being in the wrong place at the wrong time."

Kisuke watched as the defiant gleam in her eyes faded considerably. Not even the most stubbornly independent person could stand the idea of people getting hurt because of them. At least, not if they had half a conscience. He'd counted on her potential guilt over the deaths of others that might be around the next time she was attacked to help sway the situation in his favor. So far, it looked as if he'd made the right call. Her shoulders slumped in defeat as she sighed and broke her eye contact with him, staring instead at the cup of tea held in between her palms.

"I'm going to at least need to go back to my apartment and pick up a few things," she said, the fight in her voice diminished considerably.

"I'll have Ichigo escort you there," Kisuke announced, nodding to the boy as he spoke. "It might be best if you go right away, while they're probably busy regrouping."

"Got it," Ichigo said, standing up from his seat at the table. "Come on."

Daria sighed a bit and took another sip of her tea before standing and following Ichigo toward the shop at the front of the story.

"Hey," Kisuke called after them. "Only bring what's _absolutely_ necessary, got it? No need to weigh yourselves down with unneeded baggage, just in case."

"Got it," Ichigo called back over his shoulder, opening the door for Daria and letting her exit the store in front of him.

"This is a bad idea, Kisuke," Yoruichi said once the door had been closed behind them. "Mark my words, you're inviting more trouble than you realize."

"Relax, I have a plan," he assured her, a sly grin spreading across his face.

"What sort of plan?" Rukia asked as she looked up from her drawing, her curiosity piqued.

"I think we're in agreement that there's something going on with this girl, right?" he asked, posing the question to everyone in the room even though he was looking directly at Yoruichi. "Well, we're never going to figure out what that something is if we just send her home."

"And how do you propose we go about finding out what that something is?" the cat asked, still not thoroughly convinced that letting the girl stay with them was a good idea.

"I haven't figured that out, just yet," Kisuke admitted as he stood, adjusting the hat on top of his head with a single hand. "It's going to take some careful calculations to come up with just the right tool for the job."

"Is he talking about coming up with another of his crazy inventions?" Uryuu asked Chad, keeping his voice low in the hopes that the crazy shopkeeper wouldn't overhear him.

"Who knows?" Chad replied. Kisuke looked at the two of them over his shoulder and grinned.

It was just as he had feared. The man was definitely cooking up some sort of scheme.


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter Nine

Ichigo looked around the living room of Daria's apartment as he sat on a plush armchair, casually taking in his surroundings. The apartment was small, but spacious, and had a rather welcoming feel to it. He was surprised by the lack of overly feminine décor, at first, used to the frilly curtains and pastel colors that Yuzu favored for decorating his family's house, but then he remembered that Daria was ten years older than he was and likely had more sophisticated tastes when it came to decorating than his younger sister. Even more surprising, however, was the discovery that she lived only two blocks away from his own home.

He drummed his fingers on the arms of the chair, his eyes falling on the framed photographs hanging on the wall across the room. He cast a glance down the hallway toward the bedroom, where Daria was packing clothes out of her closet, then stood from his seat and made his way over to them to get a better look. He knew there was nothing wrong with him looking at the photographs – after all, they were prominently on display for all visitors to see – but for some reason, he felt like a voyeur as he examined the snapshots from various periods in the woman's life.

Most of the photographs had two subjects in them: a woman, presumably Daria's mother, and Daria herself at various stages of her childhood. Her mother was an attractive woman, with long, dark brown hair that was naturally curly, fair skin, and a warm smile that lit up her emerald green eyes. Her smile reminded Ichigo of his own mother, and he felt a pang of grief he hadn't experienced in a while tugging at his heart as his lips turned upward slightly in a sad smile. He continued looking at the pictures, pausing when he came across one of Daria's mother being held by a tall man with black hair held back in a short ponytail and midnight blue eyes – most likely Daria's father. He noticed that it was the only picture in which the man was present, and suddenly realized she had never mentioned him at all in conversation.

"Hey, Daria?" he called so that she could hear him in the bedroom at the back of the apartment. "Do you mind me asking what happened to your dad?"

"He died shortly after I was born," came her reply, spoken rather than shouted, and Ichigo turned around to find her standing just inside the living room, setting two suitcases on the floor. "I don't really know what happened. Some sort of accident."

"I guess you've had it pretty tough, huh?" he said, his voice full of sympathy for the woman.

"It wasn't so bad," she assured him, shrugging a bit. "Sure, I missed not having a father when all my friends would do things with theirs... but my mother took good care of me. And we weren't alone."

She crossed the room to stand next to him, reaching up just above her head and pulling one of the photographs from the wall, handing it to him. Ichigo took the picture and looked at it, blinking in surprise at the image of a woman who could practically be Daria's twin, cradling a baby in her arms. He knew it wasn't a photograph of her, though. The woman in the picture had shorter hair, and appeared a few years younger than the woman standing before him, not to mention the photo itself was old and faded slightly.

"My grandmother," she explained. "Nana Katja, I called her. She lived with us until she passed away a couple of years before my mother was..." Her voice trailed off and she cleared her throat a bit before continuing. "Everyone says I look just like her."

"You do," Ichigo agreed, nodding. "If I didn't know better, I'd think this was a picture of _you_."

Daria smiled a bit and took the photograph back from him, then removed a few more from the wall – including the one of her parents together – and walked back over to her suitcases. She laid one of them flat on the floor and unzipped it, placing the framed pictures within the carefully-folded clothing in order to protect the glass, then closed the suitcase and zipped it shut once more.

"You're leaving the rest of them here?" Ichigo asked, hooking a finger over his shoulder at the remaining pictures on the wall as he watched her.

"Urahara said to pack lightly," she reminded him.

"Yeah, but..." he protested, shoving his hands in the front pockets of his jeans and shrugging a bit. "They're all you have left of your mom. You should take them with you."

Daria turned to him, her smile growing, and nodded. "You know what? You're right. I should."

She disappeared back down the hallway and came back a minute later with a small duffel bag, which she carried to the wall behind him and began loading full of the framed photographs.

"Do you remember your mother?" she asked him, trying to sound as casual as possible for broaching such a sensitive subject.

"Yeah, sort of," Ichigo replied as he began helping her take down the pictures, carefully placing them into the bag at their feet. "I wasn't quite ten years old yet when she died, so some stuff is kinda hazy... but I remember her smile and her voice, and how much she meant to all of us."

"All of us?" she asked, curious.

"I have two younger sisters," he explained, realizing she really knew nothing about him. "They're twins – Karin and Yuzu."

"That must be nice," she said a bit wistfully. "I always wanted to have a younger brother or sister."

"Trust me, it's not as much fun as you might think," he told her, chuckling a bit.

"Maybe," Daria conceded, laughing as well, "but even if they're annoying and you sometimes wish they didn't exist, they're still someone who will always be there for you and look up to you."

"True," Ichigo agreed, nodding. "Like I once told someone: Big brothers are born first so that they can protect their younger siblings. Even if I complain about my sisters, I never forget that."

"You're such a good big brother Ichigo," she said in a teasing voice, reaching up and ruffling her hand through his messy orange hair, laughing when he smacked her hand away and tried to 'fix' it.

"What about you?" he asked, trying to turn the focus of the conversation away from himself. "I'm sure you remember a lot about your mom, right?"

"I remember quite a lot about her, yes," Daria told him, placing the last picture into the duffel bag and zipping it up.

"What was she like?" he wondered, genuinely curious.

"She was a wonderful person," she replied, smiling faintly. "Raising a child on her own wasn't easy, especially in Russia during the Cold War. Luckily, she had my grandmother to help while I was young. We didn't have a lot of money, but she gave me everything she could. She was friendly and kind and always smiled, even when times were hard. She worked with children, she absolutely loved them, and I probably would have had half a dozen brothers and sisters if my father hadn't died."

"She never remarried, I assume," Ichigo said, remembering the lone picture of her parents together.

"No," Daria replied, shaking her head. "She said my father was The One, and that she could never love another man the way she loved him. That's another thing about her: She was a hopeless romantic. She and my grandmother, both."

"I guess it's hard to move on when the person you love dies suddenly," he said thoughtfully, thinking of his own father. In the six years since his mother's death, his father hadn't been on a single date. Ichigo couldn't even recall him showing any interest in even _pursuing_ another relationship with someone, instead preferring to meddle in his son's personal life.

"Have you ever been in love, Ichigo?" Daria asked him, the question catching him off guard. He blinked rapidly a few times and shook his head mutely, wondering where this line of conversation was heading.

"Losing the person you love is never easy, whether it's sudden or not," she continued. "The hardest thing is when you don't know whether or not they're really gone."

"What do you mean?" Ichigo asked, furrowing his brown in confusion.

"My grandmother used to tell me the story of the first time she ever fell in love," she explained, smiling at the memory. "It always made me cry, because it was such a sad story. She never knew what happened to the man she fell in love with. He went away to serve in the military and she never heard from him again. She assumed he was killed in combat, but I think a part of her wondered if maybe he had just been using her and never intended to return to her, at all. Maybe my dad died suddenly, but at least my mother knew without a doubt that he loved her – and me."

Ichigo nodded silently, unsure what to say in response to her story. He hadn't really been in love, as far as he could tell, but there were certain people in his life that he knew he would be devastated over losing. Orihime immediately came to mind as he thought of the panic that had gone through him upon discovering she had been captured by Aizen, and the relief that had washed over him once he found out that she was safe.

"Maybe we should head back to the shop," Daria suggested, breaking the awkward silence that had settled between them, looking a bit embarrassed as she wondered if she'd crossed a line and gotten a bit too personal with him.

"I'll carry your suitcases for you," he offered, going to the other side of the room to retrieve them as she lifted the duffel bag containing the photographs and hoisted the strap onto her shoulder. Ichigo bent down and took one suitcase in each hand then stood back up, stumbling slightly as he discovered one of the bags was considerably heavier than the other.

"What the hell do you have in this thing?" he asked her, lifting the heavier suitcase slightly as he looked at it. "I thought you said you were packing lightly?"

"My seashells are in there," Daria told him.

"Your seashells?" Ichigo echoed, raising an eyebrow.

"I have a seashell collection," she explained, sighing a bit. "I _know_ it's not an absolute necessity, but... it's important to me."

Ichigo frowned a bit, but decided not to argue with her about bringing them with her.

"Let's go," he told her, adjusting his grip on the heavier suitcase as he headed toward the apartment door, hoping that they didn't get ambushed by a hollow on their way back to the Urahara Shop.

* * *

><p>Kisuke casually sipped a cup of tea as he sat by himself at the back of his shop, lost in thought. The other children had all gone home shortly after Ichigo's departure to assist Daria with her relocation to the shop, although Orihime had tried to stay so she could help the woman unpack when she returned. Yoruichi had insisted that <em>she<em> would offer any assistance Daria would need, and the girl had reluctantly left with the others, thanking him for his hospitality.

It was her sweet naiveté that he knew drove Yoruichi to force the girl to leave. Orihime was a polite girl who couldn't hurt a fly, and Yoruichi still believed that Daria was a potential danger. He couldn't blame her for not wanting to put the girl into another situation where she could possibly be used – or worse, actually hurt – but Daria had yet to really _do_ anything that might suggest she was capable of causing any of them harm. All they had was a hunch, based on the sudden appearance of those unusual creatures and that dark reiatsu of hers that had strangely disappeared upon her regaining consciousness.

Renji had asked him what he thought, after the others had all gone, admitting he wasn't sure what to think himself about the young woman. Kisuke had admitted that while he didn't believe she was a threat to them, there _was_ a chance he could be wrong. It happened, and although the occasions on which he had actually _been_ wrong in the past were few and far between, he knew those times usually tended to lead to somewhat dire circumstances. Which was why he always had at least one backup plan. The redhead knew this, and asked him point-blank what he was going to do if Daria turned out to be a danger, after all. Kisuke had assured him not to worry about it, he had things under control, but in reality he was still trying to figure that out. The other man had bought the lie, though, like they always did. It was a wonder that any of them trusted him as easily as they did after the way he had deceived them all, back when he'd been stupid enough to try to hide the hougyoku in Rukia's soul. That had been one of those few times where his own error had caused things to take a turn for the worse, although a part of him just _knew_ what Aizen would likely do – he just hadn't expected the man to figure out where he'd hidden it in time.

Sighing to himself, he stood and took his empty cup to the kitchen, placing it in the sink. He called to Jinta and Ururu, asking them to mind the shop for him, then headed upstairs. He needed to make another attempt at discovering where that dark reiatsu within Daria had disappeared to, and he knew that in order to find it he was going to have to get physically close to the girl and also get her to let her guard down around him, in case it was something she was consciously controlling on her own.

He paused just down the hall from her room, noticing her door was open, and listened carefully. He could hear her voice, quietly singing some song he'd never heard before, and he silently moved closer to the doorway with the practiced ease that came so naturally to him after his years in the Onmitsukido. Upon entering the room, he found her busy hanging clothes in the room's small closet, picking up each item out of the suitcase sitting at her feet and carefully placing it on a hanger.

Kisuke came up behind her as she rummaged around in the suitcase, still not making a sound, and placed a hand on her shoulder. Immediately she spun around, screaming, and nearly stumbled backwards into the open closet. Luckily, his reflexes were still sharp and he managed to catch her around her waist before she could fall. The action brought her body close to his, and he could feel her heart racing against his chest. He smiled at the surprised look on her face, chuckling softly, and she brought up a hand and slapped him, causing him to release her in order to rub his stinging cheek.

"What was that for?" he asked.

"Why the hell did you sneak up on me like that?" she demanded, shaking a fistful of clothing at him. It took him a moment to realize that she had grabbed a hand full of her underwear when he startled her, and a somewhat lecherous grin formed across his lips as she continued to yell at him – saying something about how it was common courtesy to knock before coming into someone's room – waving the lacy garments directly in his face.

"This is _my_ house, remember?" he reminded her, grabbing her lightly by the wrist and pulling her hand away from his face before she ended up punching him. "I can go where I like. Besides, your door was open."

Daria seethed a bit at his cocky attitude, trying to pull her hand free of his grip so she could punch the smug smile off his face, and her eyes fell upon the underwear in her hand. She looked from the garments to him and turned bright red as she realized she had been waving them right before his eyes, likely adding fuel to a fire that she absolutely _did not_ want to be stoking. With a slight growl, she twisted her hand out of his grasp and hid it behind her back, taking a large step away from him.

"What did you want, anyway?" she asked, averting her eyes as her cheeks continued to burn crimson. Kisuke couldn't help but smile. She was absolutely adorable when she was embarrassed.

"I wanted to make sure you weren't having any trouble getting settled in," he told her.

"I'm fine," she replied, still unable to look at him. He tipped his hat back a bit and leaned forward, tilting his head to the side, watching her silently until she finally turned toward him. She was about to tell him off, but the shock of being able to fully see his face rendered her completely silent. He smiled at her, and she saw no hint of teasing in his stormy grey eyes. Instead, she noticed some sort of fascination lingering behind his stare, as if he was studying her for some reason. It made her feel somewhat nervous, and she shifted a bit uncomfortably, but she couldn't tear her eyes away from his steady gaze.

"Please do not hesitate to ask for anything you may need," he said to her, his voice soft. "My home is your home, now, and I am nothing if not a gracious host."

Daria nodded mutely, her breath catching in her throat as she continued to be transfixed by his eyes. It was almost as if he was holding her under some sort of hypnotic spell, made worse by the tone of his voice as he spoke to her. He took a step closer to her and her breath hitched, causing that damn smirk to return, and suddenly the spell was broken and she wanted to hit him again. Chucking lightly, he pushed his hat back down firmly onto his head as he backed away from her, once again obscuring his eyes from her vision.

"Lunch should be ready, soon," he informed her, heading toward the door. "Come downstairs once you've finished putting away your unmentionables."

Kisuke laughed as she cursed at his retreating form, calling him a 'damn twisted pervert.' It was only her first day living under the same roof, and she already had his number. He turned back toward her just outside the doorway and winked at her, then began heading back downstairs, his expression turning serious.

He had felt it.

The second his hand had made contact with her skin, it was there. It was faint, buried somewhere deep within her soul, but that dark reiatsu from before had _definitely_ not just up and vanished like he had hoped.

Sighing deeply, he reached up and rubbed the back of his neck, his mind running at a thousand miles a minute. She seemed so... _normal_. If he didn't know any better, he would have just assumed her to be a human with a high sensitivity to spiritual beings. He knew that wasn't the case, though. There was something strange about that girl, something potentially dangerous, although his instincts were still telling him that she posed no danger to any of them. He just couldn't ignore that darkness within her, no matter how faint it was.

Kisuke knew he had to get to the bottom of things. He told Tessai he would be taking his meals in his workshop for the rest of the day, and then disappeared into the small shack off the side of the shop, determined not to come out until he discovered a way to find the answers he needed.


	10. Chapter 10

Author's Note: For those of you who have been anxiously wondering: Yes, I have decided there will be some IchiHime in this story, as well - as evidenced by the first part of this chapter.

* * *

><p><span>Chapter Ten <span>

Ichigo let out a frustrated sigh, running a hand back through his hair, and continued walking in the direction of the Urahara Shop. He had spent the last three hours wandering aimlessly about Karakura Town, just waiting for a hollow to attack, the late afternoon sun beating down on him relentlessly. Normally, he wouldn't go _intentionally_ looking for a fight with one, but Urahara had asked him to try to track down one of those black creatures in order to take samples of it. He figured, since they always seemed to pop up wherever hollows were lately, his best shot at finding one would be to locate a hollow. However, he was having absolutely no luck at coming across even so much as a plus – which, in itself, was a bit unusual. Perhaps the lack of pluses was somehow tied to the appearance of those creatures. He'd have to remember to ask Urahara about it once he got there.

"Ichigo!"

He turned when he heard his name being called and smiled when he found Orihime running up to him, waving. She stopped when she reached him, bending over at the waist and resting her hands atop her thighs as she gasped slightly for breath, her long auburn hair falling into her face.

"What's up, Orihime?" he asked her.

"I... I was looking for you," she told him, still trying to catch her breath. "I stopped by your house... but your dad said... you hadn't been home all day."

"Yeah, Urahara sent me out on a mission after I brought Daria back to his place," he told her.

"What kind of mission?" she asked, looking up at him, her voice hopeful. Ichigo smiled again. He knew that tone of voice. Orihime was always so desperate to be of help to him and the others during the war that he had heard it often.

"Don't worry, Orihime, it's nothing you need to be concerned about," he assured her. "He just wants me to get him some samples from one of those weird things that keep trying to attack Daria, that's all."

"What kind of samples?" she wondered, standing back up to her full height and tucking her hair back behind her ears.

"Well," Ichigo explained as he began walking once again, Orihime falling into step alongside him, "those things dissolve into this black ooze after they're killed. He wants me to try to collect some of the ooze after they die, before they completely disappear. I guess he's gonna try to analyze it or something."

"Sounds like something Mr. Urahara would do," she replied, then fell silent as they kept walking together. She glanced over at him, watching the way he was walking with his shoulders hunched slightly and his hands shoved in his pockets. A part of her wanted to reach out to him, to wrap her arms around one of his and nestle her head against his shoulder and walk together with him like couples do. She knew she couldn't do that, though. Not yet.

"Ichigo?" she said after a moment, stopping and turning toward him.

"Yeah?" Ichigo replied, coming to a stop as well and turning to face her.

"I... I never properly thanked you," she said quietly, after a moment. "For rescuing me, I mean."

Ichigo smiled at her. "There's no need for you to thank me, Orihime. I mean, you would have done the same for me, right?"

"Of course!" she replied, then blushed at how eager she sounded. Ichigo chuckled and took a step toward her, hesitating, then surprised her by pulling her into his arms and hugging her.

"Orihime?" he said her name, and she couldn't reply. She merely stood motionless as he held her, her heart racing and her breath catching in her throat.

"Yes?" she whispered once she was able to find her voice again.

"I told you before, didn't I?" he asked, his voice just as quiet as hers. "I'll always protect you."

Orihime smiled and slowly reached up, wrapping her arms around him. It might not exactly be a declaration of love, but it was the closest thing to one she could hope for from Ichigo, at that moment. A part of her wanted to confess her own feelings to him then and there, but she knew it wasn't the right place or time. So she settled for returning his gesture, even as tears threatened to fall from her eyes.

"I know you will, Ichigo," she told him, hiding her face against his shoulder. "And I'll always thank you."

The two of them remained standing there, embracing one another, each of them afraid to tell the other how they truly felt. After a long moment, they separated from one another and simply stood there, barely an arm's length apart, neither of them able to look the other in the eye.

"Well, um... I guess we should get going to Urahara's," Ichigo suggested after a moment, reaching up and scratching the back of his head. Orihime nodded silently and began walking again, and Ichigo followed her lead, lagging a step behind her.

He watched her as she walked slightly ahead of him, mentally kicking himself. He had been _so_ close to kissing her, but he'd caught himself at the last second and instead just hugged her. Kissing her would have been a mistake. She was his friend. He cared about her, as a _friend_. There was nothing more than a strong friendship between them, and kissing her would have ruined that.

Ichigo kept telling himself that the rest of the way to the shop.

* * *

><p>Daria let out a frustrated growl as she sat up on her bed, slamming the book in her hands shut and tossing it aside. She had been holed up in her new room all day, getting settled in, and with her clothes put away and all of her other items unpacked she had nothing left to do but lie around and read. Not that she <em>minded<em> reading, but the more she thought about it, the more she realized it was the only thing she was going to have to do for God knows how long while Kisuke Urahara and his lackeys tried to figure out why those things were trying to kill her.

Sighing, she flopped back down onto the futon and stared up at the ceiling, cursing herself. She _knew_ she should have skipped town. She'd been having an uneasy feeling for the last two weeks, that same feeling she'd gotten when she was living in London... right before the _last_ time she saw him. She had yet to see him here in this town, but if those evil creatures were around she knew he couldn't be far behind. She wondered how the hell he kept finding her. Maybe she should have changed her name this time when she relocated, but she figured that moving halfway across the world would be more than enough to shake him.

Truthfully, though, she was sick of running. The first time hadn't been too hard. She was still young, with no family, so she had no roots to leave behind in her hometown back in Russia. When he'd tracked her down in London, though, she had a life – friends, a good job, and a decent boyfriend. But she hadn't thought twice about cutting all of those ties and taking off to a completely foreign land. It had been harder to get herself situated in Karakura Town, due to the language barrier, but thanks largely in part to the kindness of her new neighbors and a night class in Japanese she managed to find her place.

Sitting up once more, she closed her eyes and leaned forward, resting her face in the palms of her hands as she let out another weary sigh. It had only been three years. She didn't want to have to pick up and leave again, already. She wanted to be able to stay in one place and have a life without worrying about looking over her shoulder and seeing his face staring back at her. She wanted to have faith in Urahara and Ichigo and the others, that they would actually be able to protect her and keep her safe, but they had no idea what they were dealing with. _She_ didn't even know what they were dealing with, which was precisely why she kept running.

"Everything alright in here?"

Daria lifted her head and turned to find Kisuke standing in the doorway. His eyes were hidden by the brim of his hat, but she could see that he was frowning slightly and hear the genuine note of concern in his voice. She turned on the futon to face him, arranging her skirt to prevent him from getting _another_ glimpse of her underwear, her face burning at the memory of their earlier confrontation.

"Everything's just fine," she told him, nodding slightly.

"You're lying," he stated matter-of-factly. "Something's bothering you. I can feel it."

"What, you're a psychic?" she asked him with a hint of sarcasm.

"No, I'm a shinigami. We're particularly sensitive to the effect people's moods have on their spiritual energy."

Daria blinked in surprise at the sudden revelation, and watched him carefully as he entered the room and took a seat on the floor next to her bed, wondering if he was actually being serious or just pulling her leg.

"_You_ are a shinigami?" she said, not even attempting to hide her skepticism.

"I used to be a captain of one of the Protection Squads within Soul Society."

"Used to be?"

"I've been in exile here in the human world for the past hundred years," he told her. "I was accused of committing a treasonous act against the rules of Soul Society. My punishment was to have my powers removed and _then_ be exiled, but I managed to escape before the first part of the sentence was carried out, thanks to Yoruichi."

Daria shifted a bit uneasily at the mention of the other woman's name, but quickly recovered, shaking her head a bit in confusion.

"Why are you telling me all of this?" she asked him. Kisuke smiled at her, looking up enough so she could see his eyes peering at her from within the shadows of his hat.

"Because I believe that trust is to be _earned_, Miss Novikov," he explained.

"So... By telling me about your past, I'm supposed to trust you?" she wondered.

"No," Kisuke replied, shaking his head. "But it's a start. The reason I'm telling you about my past is to help put you at ease."

"Put me at ease?"

"You seemed very frightened this morning, when you were talking about those creatures and your mother's death," he said in a quiet voice, leaning slightly closer to her so she could hear him as he spoke. "I realize that I and my home might not seem like much, but I just wanted you to be aware that you truly _are_ safe here. This building has _several_ protective barriers surrounding it, and I am more than capable of fighting off any enemies that might break through them."

Daria watched his lips as he spoke, recalling the way she'd been captivated by his presence earlier, and had to tear her eyes away before she ended up doing something _really_ stupid. Kisuke reached out and placed his hand under her chin, turning her face back toward him as he leaned even closer to her, his eyes gazing intently into hers.

"Have faith in us, Daria," he requested.

Daria continued staring into his eyes, nodding in agreement. Kisuke let his hand fall down toward her necklace, and he cupped the jewel hanging from the chain in his hand, examining the inscription upon it. It was the first time he had actually seen it for himself, and he ran it through every mental databank he possessed, searching for the true meaning behind the symbol.

Yoruichi had gone to a public library earlier in the day and checked out a book on Nordic runes in order to disprove the girl's story, and had succeeded. She'd rubbed that little victory in his face as she showed him each and every rune that had any sort of meaning related to protection. None of them came even _close_ to matching the symbol on her necklace. Yoruichi had also made another interesting discovery in a book on symbolism that she had been browsing in hopes of finding some clue about the pendant: Humans in the Middle Ages had believed that uncut emeralds possessed the ability to ward off evil spirits. So even if the symbol _wasn't_ really a rune for protection, perhaps it still held the same meaning.

"Something wrong?" Daria asked, and Kisuke realized he had just let out a heavy sigh. Forcing a smile, he released the pendant and let it fall back down to nestle between her breasts.

"I was just admiring the craftsmanship of your necklace," he lied, reaching up and pushing his hat down slightly to hide his eyes. "It's rather difficult to engrave such an intricate symbol into a gemstone like this."

Daria looked down at the necklace around her neck and tucked the stone back under her shirt. She hadn't realized it had slipped out as she was changing her positions on the bed while reading.

"You don't like people seeing it?" Kisuke asked.

"It's sort of stupid," she told him, "but... I like to keep it close to my heart. It's all I really have of my father, after all."

"I understand," he replied, nodding slightly. "And it's not stupid."

Daria felt herself blushing as she smiled, and he smiled back at her for a moment before suddenly standing and heading back out of the room.

"Are you sure you don't need anything?" he asked her as he stood in the doorway, peering at her from under his hat.

"If I do, I'll let you know." she assured him with a nod.

Kisuke nodded back in reply and stepped out into the hallway, shutting the bedroom door behind him, then crossed the hallway to his own room and opened the door just enough to stick his head inside.

"I am going back to my workshop, now," he informed the black cat that was currently curled up on his bed, napping. "_Do not_ interrupt me again."

"What did you say to her?" Yoruichi asked without opening her eyes. Kisuke paused in the middle of his exit and stuck his head back into the room, sighing a bit.

"I told her about who I am."

"_All_ of it?" she wondered, opening a single golden eye.

"Enough of it so that she'll trust me to keep her safe and not try to run," he replied. "I left out most of the details, though."

"Do you think she'll stay?" she asked him.

"I do," he assured her, nodding.

Even if she didn't fully trust him, Kisuke knew Daria would never be able to bring herself to leave the sanctuary of the Urahara Shop. For one thing, she was scared to death of those things out there. He could see it in her eyes any time they were even _mentioned_ around her. And then there was her attraction to him... Oh, he could see it, plain as day. It wasn't hard for an observant man like him to notice the subtle differences in her whenever he was around. The pulse in her neck had begun to race each time he got near her, and the closer he got the more her voice took on a slightly breathy tone. They were classic signs of infatuation, and he hadn't even done anything in an attempt to provoke them. Not really, anyway.

That was why Kisuke Urahara was _certain _that Daria Novikov wouldn't be going anywhere any time soon.


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter Eleven

Renji laughed quietly in his sleep as he rolled over onto his back, a small smile tugging at his lips. He mumbled to himself almost incoherently, saying something about how he always knew Rukia loved him and that she was right about him being more of a man than Byakuya could ever hope to be.

"What kind of man fights with flowers?" he asked in his sleep, wrapping his arms around the comforter and holding it tightly to his chest. "I'll protect you, Rukia."

A knock sounded on his bedroom door and he slowly opened his eyes to find himself making out with his comforter. Jerking his head back, he blinked a few times and spit out some lint that had gotten stuck in his mouth, his face turning the same shade as his hair as he looked around, attempting to find out what time it was. There was no clock, but the sun was shining in through the window on the opposite side of the room, so he knew it must already be morning.

Standing up from his futon, he grabbed an elastic band off the small table by the bed and hastily pulled his long hair up into a messy ponytail before answering the door. He expected it to be Ururu, come to wake him up for breakfast. Jinta wouldn't have patiently waited after knocking – if he'd even bothered knocking _at all_, since he normally just barged right in and hit him over the head to wake him up. Kisuke would still be in bed, and likely stay there until well past noon while everyone _else _was up and busy working around the house and shop... one of the benefits of being the master of the house, he supposed. Tessai would be too busy in the kitchen to go wake everyone else, and Yoruichi was too lazy to do it, preferring to lounge around in her cat form most of the day when she wasn't off doing whatever it was she did when her services were needed of her.

Stifling a yawn, Renji slid open his bedroom door and let out a surprised noise when he found Daria standing on the other side. His senses were suddenly on full alert, and he stood up to his full height as he forced a smile.

"G-Good morning, Daria," he said as cheerfully as he could, attempting to laugh. It came out a bit strangled, and he knew she'd be able to tell he was faking it. "I wasn't expecting to see you so early."

"I was having trouble sleeping, so I've been helping Tessai with preparing breakfast," she told him, taking a step toward him. Renji automatically took a step back, causing her to frown. "He asked me to wake everyone up, which was fine with me, since I had something I wanted to talk to you about."

"What might that be?" he wondered, taking another step backwards as she advanced toward him once more.

"Why the hell are you so afraid of me?" she asked him, laughing a bit.

"I... I'm not afraid of you," he lied.

"You keep backing away every time I take a step closer to you, Renji," she pointed out, taking another step toward him to prove her point. He immediately took another step back. "See?"

"I'm just... I'm nervous about those things that are after you," he said, coming up with the most believable excuse he could think of.

"That still doesn't explain why you're afraid of _me_," Daria argued. "Besides, you didn't even know about them the first time I met you, did you? I was under the impression that was the first time Kisuke had told anyone besides Yoruichi about them."

"I heard about them from Rukia," he replied, finding it increasingly easy to lie to her. He knew Rukia had been with Ichigo when Daria had been attacked the first time, so he figured she must have seen the creatures then, too. He'd just have to be sure he told Rukia to cover for him in case she tried to verify his story.

"I see," Daria said, nodding slightly, not sounding entirely convinced. She sighed a bit and tucked a strand of hair that had come loose from her ponytail behind her ear, then crossed her arms over her chest. "So then why did that all suddenly not matter after I was attacked last time?"

"Excuse me?" Renji said, confused about what she was asking him.

"You didn't hesitate to pick me up and carry me back here," she reminded him. "Even though you'd just been faced with those very same creatures you claim to be nervous about."

"Because I knew we had to get out of there and back here before more of them attacked," he explained. He hadn't even really realized what he'd done until they were already back at the shop, and by that point he'd just shrugged it off as his preservation instincts kicking in.

Daria sighed, letting her arms fall back down to her sides, and looked away from him. Of all the things he'd said to her since she first showed up at his room, that had been the most genuinely honest statement to come out of his mouth. She still didn't understand why he was acting so jittery around her, but Kisuke had said it himself: Trust has to be earned.

"Breakfast is ready," she informed him. "Jinta said you better hurry or you won't get a chance to eat before he puts you to work."

"That little brat!" Renji growled as Daria stepped aside, and a moment later he took off running in the direction of the stairs, bumping into her and causing her to stagger backwards into someone.

"Sorry," she apologized, looking over her shoulder to see who she'd backed into. Her eyes went wide when she came face-to-face with Yoruichi.

"Good morning, Daria," Yoruichi said sweetly, giving the girl her best smile. "How was your first night here? Did you sleep well?"

"I... It was fine," Daria stammered a bit nervously, attempting to smile back at the other woman. "And you? I trust you slept well, last night?"

"Of course," Yoruichi told her, nodding. "I always sleep well in Kisuke's bed."

Daria averted her eyes and blushed a bit, trying not to think about what, exactly, she and Kisuke had been doing in that bed.

"Something wrong?" Yoruichi asked, bending down slightly to get a better look at her face. "Don't tell me he's been hitting on you."

"What? No!" Daria denied any accusations that she had been on the receiving end of the man's subtle – and sometimes not-so-subtle – flirting. Her eyes met the older woman's, and she felt as if she was about to spill everything, starting with the way she'd nearly kissed him the previous evening in her room. She bit her tongue, though, remembering just how threatening the woman could be.

"Of _course _nothing's happened between us, Miss Shihouin," she stated, laughing as if she had just told her some sort of joke. "Kisuke's been a gracious host, but his actions have never crossed the line. He's never been inappropriate with me."

Yoruichi hummed thoughtfully. "You just called him by his first name. Are you _sure_ he hasn't tried to get a bit... _familiar_ with you?"

"N-No," Daria stuttered, backing up as the other woman advanced on her until she was stuck against the wall in the middle of the hallway. "I swear, _nothing's_ happened."

Yoruichi watched her silently for a long moment, her gold eyes narrowed into menacing slits as she stared the other woman down. She knew she was being sadistic, but she enjoyed making the girl squirm, letting her know that she wasn't someone to be taken lightly. She knew that threatening her meant running the risk of her running off, but Kisuke had assured her that the girl wouldn't try to go anywhere.

It wasn't that she cared whether or not the two of them ended up sleeping together. Hell, she knew that if anyone needed to get laid this century it was him. Mostly, she was just concerned for her best friend's safety. If Daria _did_ turn out to be dangerous, she didn't want to have to be worried about Kisuke being wrapped up with her and whatever mess she was into.

"Alright," she finally said, her voice low and menacing. "But you'd better not let me catch the two of you doing anything."

Daria nodded, and Yoruichi backed off, satisfied that the girl seemed to be taking her warning seriously. Daria waited a few seconds to see if there was anything else that she needed to hear, then scurried off down the hall and back downstairs to the sitting room, where Renji and the children were sitting at the table, eating. She was about to take her own seat next to Ururu when Tessai came over to her, carrying a tray loaded with food.

"Miss Daria, could you please take this to Urahara-dono in his workshop," he requested, holding the tray out toward her. Daria took the tray and raised an eyebrow in question, turning to look at Yoruichi as she entered the room behind her.

"I thought Urahara was upstairs with you?" she asked the purple-haired woman. Yoruichi shrugged as she sat down where Daria had been planning to sit and began filling up her bowl with rice.

"You never asked," Yoruichi said, smirking a bit. "Just because I slept in Kisuke's room doesn't mean he was with me."

Sighing a bit, Daria turned back to Tessai and smiled at him as she carefully took the tray from his hands.

"I would be happy to deliver this to Mr. Urahara," she said, deliberately referring to him in a formal manner as she glanced over her shoulder at Yoruichi, who was watching her intently with her chopsticks clenched tightly in one fist.

Daria headed to the workshop, following the directions Tessai had given her to find the door leading to the small building that was connected to the side of the house. She carefully balanced the tray on one arm as she knocked on the door, then waited a full minute before trying the handle. Finding the door unlocked, she opened it slightly and stuck her head through the gap between the door and its frame.

"Mr. Urahara," she called, slowly pushing the door open the rest of the way and stepping into the room. "I've brought you some breakfast."

The workshop was dark, and judging by the walls it was really nothing more than a wooden shack that had been built onto the side of the building some time ago. She had expected it to be like any other workshop, full of tools for woodworking or auto repair – the usual hobbies men had workshops for. Instead, she found herself surrounded by beakers and test tubes and various other equipment that would be better suited to a research laboratory than a workshop.

Daria followed the sole source of light in the room, walking through the banks of metal shelves by the door and carefully picking her way around several tables covered in glass contraptions containing various bubbling solutions. She discovered the source of the light was a small lamp situated on a large desk at the very back of the room where Kisuke was sitting, hunched over.

"Mr. Urahara?" she called as she neared him, but received no reply.

Frowning a bit, she approached the desk and set the try down on the edge before leaning over and peering at his face. His head was propped up in one hand, but his eyes were closed and she smiled as she realized he had fallen asleep while working on whatever it was he had been working on all night. Daria looked over her shoulder, making sure no one had followed her into the room, then stepped over to him and reached out toward him, placing a hand on his shoulder and giving it a gentle shake. Kisuke merely muttered incoherently in his sleep and put his arm down on top of the desk, laying his head down on top of it and shifting a bit in his chair to get more comfortable in his new position.

Laughing quietly, Daria reached up and pushed some of his messy blonde hair back from his face. It was the first time she had seen him without that hat he always wore, which he'd placed on a mannequin bust at the corner of the desk. He was actually rather handsome, in an unconventional sort of way, and she caught herself smiling as she gently traced the line of his jaw, his stubble tickling her fingertips. The touch was enough to alert him of her presence, and she watched as he slowly opened his bluish-grey eyes, groaning softly in protest.

"Daria?" he said, his voice thick with sleep, and sat up as he blinked at her. "What are you doing in here?"

"I... I'm sorry," she quickly apologized, taking a step back from him as he pushed his chair out from under the desk and stood up, stretching. "Tessai sent me here with your breakfast, and you were sleeping so I thought I'd try to wake you."

"Well, I wish I'd managed to stay asleep just a bit longer," he told her in a teasing, flirtatious tone. "Maybe you would have tried kissing me."

"I would _not_ have kissed you!" Daria insisted, blushing. Kisuke grinned and took a step closer to her, leaning down until he was practically close enough to kiss her, himself.

"It's quite alright, Daria," he whispered. "I wouldn't mind if you took advantage of me while I'm sleeping and vulnerable."

Daria gasped in indignation, completely unable to believe that not only would he think she would do such a thing, but that he was actually _encouraging_ her to do it. She brought up a hand and placed it on his chest, pushing him away as she took yet another step from him, and ended up bumping into the tray sitting on the edge of his desk. The tray toppled over, and she quickly lunged for it, trying to catch it before everything ended up spilled across the floor of the workshop. She managed to catch the tray, but several of the dishes on it slipped off and fell, spilling their contents and shattering on impact. Kisuke tsked behind her, causing her to glare at him over her shoulder.

"Now look what you've done," he admonished her, though his voice was full of humor. "You've gone and made a mess all over my workshop."

"Maybe if _you_ hadn't been getting fresh with me, this wouldn't have happened," she angrily replied, setting the tray back on the desk before kneeling down to pick up the broken dishes off the floor.

"You want fresh?" Kisuke asked under his breath, smirking. "I'll show you fresh."

He knelt down behind her and reached for the same piece of broken ceramic that she did, intentionally sliding his hand across the top of hers, his breath blowing into her ear as he leaned over her shoulder in order to reach the piece she had been after. Daria shivered, involuntarily leaning back against his chest, and his lips curved upward into a smile.

"You should let _me_ clean this up," he quietly told her. "Wouldn't want you to go cutting yourself."

Daria turned slightly and looked up at him, their closeness causing her heartbeat to pound loudly in her ears. He simply watched her silently with half-lidded eyes, smiling lazily as he continued leaning forward until his fingers closed around the broken piece of the dish she had dropped. She leaned away from him as he got closer to her, in order to avoid their lips coming into contact, and had to grab the front of his shirt to keep from toppling backwards into the mess on the floor.

"Well, well... Look at you," he said seductively, his other hand moving up to support the small of her back. "Clinging to me like some girl on the cover of a romance novel."

Daria opened her mouth to reply, but fell completely still when she heard someone approaching.

"Kisuke?" Yoruichi called as she neared the doorway of the workshop. "Everything okay in here? I thought I heard something breaking."

Daria quickly pushed Kisuke off her, sending him sprawling onto his back on the floor, and hopped to her feet. Her foot slipped in the food on the floor and she lost her balance and ended up falling forward, landing on top of him. She had just started to get up off of him when Yoruichi rounded the corner of the metal shelving units. The older woman stopped dead in her tracks, her eyes going a bit wide at the sight before her.

"This is _not_ what it looks like," Daria said, her own eyes wide with fear.

"Of course it is," Kisuke insisted, wrapping his arms around her waist and pulling her back down on top of him.

"Kisuke!" Yoruichi said sternly, placing her hands on her hips as she glared at him. "Let her go."

He pouted, but complied to her demands, releasing Daria and letting his arms fall limply to his sides on the floor. Daria wasted no time in pulling herself to her feet, and she averted her eyes from Yoruichi's icy gaze as she began making her way toward the door of the workshop. Yoruichi's hand shot out and grabbed her arm as she tried to skirt past her, and Daria winced as her fingers bit painfully into her skin.

"I thought I warned you to stay away from him," she growled, looking at her out of the corner of her eye.

"It was my fault, Yoruichi-san," Kisuke called to her, sitting up. "I tripped and Daria tried to help me regain my balance, but I ended up falling anyway and pulling her down on top of me."

Daria turned her head and looked back to him, blinking in surprise. He had just lied to the woman he was sharing a bed with – a woman who appeared to be _very_ dangerous.

"Is this true?" Yoruichi asked, turning her head to fully look at Daria. Daria turned back to her and nodded mutely.

"Fine," she said after considering her for a moment, reluctantly letting go of her arm. Daria reached up and rubbed the sore limb, wondering how badly she would be bruised from the vice grip she'd had on her. "Get out of here."

Daria didn't hesitate in making her way out of the room, happy to put the scene that was about to unfold as far behind her as she could. She couldn't _begin_ to imagine what Yoruichi might do to Kisuke once she discovered what had _actually_ been going on between them in that workshop. She just hoped she didn't kill the poor man.

Kisuke watched Daria walk out of his workshop, sighting as he stood up, and retrieved his hat from its perch. He placed the hat on top of his head as Yoruichi came up behind him, and he could feel her glaring at the back of his head. He knew she didn't buy his explanation about what had happened, but thankfully she had pretended to and let Daria go. The girl was _already_ frightened of her more than enough, without having to witness her wrath in person.

"What the _hell_ were you doing, Kisuke?" she demanded. "You're _supposed_ to be finding a way to identify that dark reiatsu in her, _not_ playing hanky-panky."

"I'm sorry," he apologized without turning around to look at her. "I was just having some fun."

"Well _stop_ it," she demanded. "I refuse to watch something happen to you because you're busy being your usual idiot self and skirt-chasing after some girl when you _should_ be on your guard around her because she could possibly be dangerous."

Kisuke blinked and turned around to look at her, surprised by the tone of her voice. It wasn't often that Yoruichi Shihouin let her famously tough composure fall aside, but the urgency in her voice had shown him a rather sizable crack in that protective outer shell. He knew why she was getting so upset, and he sighed heavily as guilt washed over him. _He_ was the reason she had left Soul Society behind, after all, abandoning everything she had known for her entire life.

"I really _am_ sorry, Yoruichi-san," he told her sincerely, hanging his head in shame. "I promise, no more fooling around. From now on, I'm all business."

"Alright," she replied, nodding. "I forgive you."

Kisuke looked back up at her and smiled, then knelt by his desk and began cleaning up the mess once more. Yoruichi sighed a bit and bent down to help him, her eyes moving over to him after a moment.

"Are you _really_ going to stop messing around with her?" she asked.

"For now," Kisuke replied, grinning a little. "Once I've figured out some things, though... all bets are off."

"Why do you insist on doing this to me?" Yoruichi wondered, sighing a bit.

"Oh, come on," he said, turning toward her on his heel. "Admit it. If you weren't so worried about her being dangerous, you'd be having just as much fun with this as I am."

"Alright, you got me there," she admitted, allowing herself to return his smile.

"So, are we okay now?" he asked.

"Yeah," she told him. "Just don't let me catch you trying to get it on with her again."

"Too many bad memories, huh?"

Kisuke winked at her and she rolled her eyes at him, remembering the _one_ time she'd had the misfortune of walking in on him and one of his girlfriends when they were younger and he was still living with her and Tessai in the Shihouin family estate. He'd been amused by how outraged she'd been by him having sex within _her _home, and he'd laughed and asked if she wanted to join them – which had earned him a kick to the head. Yoruichi reached over and and smacked him up the back of his head, calling him a disgusting pervert for reminding her of the incident.

Kisuke simply smiled, glad that things were back to normal.


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter Twelve

Ururu hummed to herself as she swept the floor of the shop the way she always did in the afternoon, wondering how she'd managed to let Jinta talk her into taking over his turn to clean _this_ time. They were supposed to take turns with their chores, alternating days according to a schedule Tessai had written up and taped to the refrigerator in the kitchen, but somehow she _always_ ended up being the one to do the cleaning while Jinta merely sat around and watched or pretended he was some sort of baseball hero.

Seeing an empty wrapper on the floor, she paused in her sweeping and bent down to pick up the piece of paper, then let out a sharp cry as she was struck in the back of the head with Jinta's fist.

"What are you doing?" the redheaded boy demanded, standing behind her with his hands on his hips in a superior manner. "You better not be slacking off."

"I was just picking up this piece of paper, Jinta," Ururu explained meekly, holding up the wrapper for him to see.

"Hey, that's a wrapper from one of _our_ products," Jinta remarked, snatching the paper out of her hand. "Don't tell me you've been sneaking treats from the store without the boss' permission."

"No, Jinta," Ururu insisted, snaking her head. "I would never do something like that."

"Yeah, you're right," Jinta agreed, frowning as if he was disappointed that she hadn't been the culprit. "I'll bet it was that damn moocher who ate it."

"You really should be nicer to Mr. Renji," Ururu told him. "He's a lot bigger and stronger than you."

"I can take that punk on, any day," Jinta stated proudly, puffing out his chest. "Just let him try. I'll whack him so hard he'll wake up next year!"

Ururu giggled, covering her mouth with one hand, and Jinta turned his attention toward her, glaring.

"Are you laughing at me?" he asked, his mouth set in a tight scowl.

"N-No, Jinta," Ururu stuttered, struggling to bring her laughter under control. "Of course not."

"You are!" Jinta yelled, pouncing on her. Ururu ducked, trying to avoid him, but he managed to wrap his arm around her, holding her back against him as he forcefully dug his knuckles into the top of her head.

"Ow! Jinta, stop! I'm sorry!" she cried out, tears springing to her eyes as he continued his assault, laughing maniacally.

The laughter died suddenly in his throat when he felt a large hand close around the collar of his shirt, lifting him up into the air until his legs dangled several feet off the ground. Swallowing nervously, he turned his head and found Tessai's dark eyes boring into his, the glare of the sunlight reflecting off his glasses making him seem all the more menacing.

"Jinta," he said, his deep voice stern. "Why aren't you doing your chores?"

"I-I was just punishing Ururu for slacking off," the boy replied, his voice breaking slightly.

"But it is _your_ turn to sweep the shop, not hers," Tessai reminded him.

"Yes, sir," Jinta immediately agreed, nodding his head fervently. "Of course! Right away, sir!"

He squirmed until Tessai set him back on his feet, then snatched the broom from Ururu's hands and quickly began sweeping up the shop, laughing nervously. Ururu merely watched him for a while, a small smile tugging at her lips, then she turned her attention toward Tessai and bowed to him in thanks.

"Thank you, Mr. Tessai," she told him.

"Are you alright?" he asked her, keeping an eye on Jinta to make sure he was still sweeping.

"I'm fine," she assured him, nodding.

"Does he always act that way?"

Ururu blinked and looked around the large man to find Daria leaning in the doorway leading to the back room of the shop. She hadn't even known the woman was there until she spoke.

"Jinta is always rough-housing with me," Ururu told her. Daria made a thoughtful sound and stepped forward until she was standing next to Tessai, her arms crossed over her chest as she watched the young boy scurry around the shop, a smile slowly forming on her face.

"Ururu, do you know why little boys pick on girls?" she asked the girl, loud enough so that Jinta would be sure to hear her.

"No," Ururu replied, shaking her head.

"They pick on girls because they like them and they don't know how to express their feelings."

Jinta froze when her words reached his ears, his entire face turning the same color as his hair.

"Th-That's not true!" he stammered, his blush deepening even more each second. "I don't like her!"

"Are you _sure_ Jinta?" Daria teased him as she walked over to where he was standing. "By the way you're blushing, I'd say you were madly in love with her."

She bent down and pinched his cheek, grinning at him, and he slapped her hand away before sprinting off in the direction of his bedroom, leaving her laughing in his wake. Tessai also allowed himself to chuckle a bit, placing a large hand on top of Ururu's head and gently mussing her hair.

"Do you really think he likes me, Miss Daria?" the girl asked, her eyes wide in shock at the revelation.

"Maybe," Daria told her. "But I know one thing's for sure: He'll definitely think twice before the next time he teases you."

Daria winked at Ururu and she giggled in response, skipping over to where Jinta had dropped the broom in his haste to get out of the room, and resumed the sweeping where he had left off. She knew it was really his duty to do the cleaning, but she didn't like to leave things unfinished and her responsible nature wouldn't allow her to just let the remainder of the store be left unswept.

"So what are you planning to do today, Miss Daria?" Tessai asked as she sat down at the back of the store with a sigh.

"Nothing, I guess," she replied, sounding bored. "Same as every other day I've been here."

A week had passed since she first came to stay at the Urahara Shop, and each day had been as uneventful as the one before it. Kisuke had been locked up in his workshop all week, so she hadn't seen or heard from him since the day she took his breakfast to him – which was probably a good thing, considering what had happened between them that morning. Thankfully, she hadn't seen Yoruichi since then, either, but that cat of hers always seemed to be following her around, watching her. She had offered to help with the household chores, saying she didn't want to just stay there without earning her keep, but Tessai had insisted that she was their guest and there was no need for her to do anything. That had ticked off Renji, who grumbled about how Jinta always made him do things around the house even when he was busy with his shinigami duties.

"Say, where is Renji?" she asked as she realized she hadn't seen the redhead all morning.

"He's out patrolling," Kisuke stated as he stepped out of the back room, coming to stand beside where she was sitting. "Someone has to keep an eye out for hollows while Ichigo is in school, after all."

"Have you completed your research, Urahara-dono?" Tessai asked as Kisuke took a seat next to Daria, pulling out his fan and flicking it open.

"Not quite," he replied, lazily fanning himself. "I still need some more materials. Daria, would you be so kind as to go into town and get them for me?"

Daria turned toward him, blinking in surprise. "But I... Those things..."

"Don't look so worried," Kisuke told her, chuckling. "Ichigo and the others have been looking for them all week and have found no signs of them anywhere. There hasn't been any activity from the hollows, either, so I think it's safe to say you'll be alright going out for an hour or so."

Daria gave him a skeptical look, then turned to Tessai. The large man nodded, silently assuring her that Kisuke knew what he was talking about, and she stood up with a sigh.

"Fine," she conceded. "It'll be good to get out of the house, anyway. What do you need?"

"Here," Kisuke said, pulling a folded piece of paper out of the sleeve of his overcoat. "Everything I require is written on there."

Daria unfolded the piece of paper and looked the list over, raising an eyebrow.

"This is a grocery list," she pointed out, flipping the list over so Kisuke could see what was written on the page.

"Of course!" he said, nodding as he snapped his fan shut and pointed it at her. "You can't expect me to continue to work on an empty stomach, can you?"

Daria rolled her eyes and held out her hand toward him, palm-up. Kisuke leaned over her hand, looking at it quizzically for a moment before raising his gaze to hers.

"You don't expect _me_ to pay for it, do you?" she asked. "After all, _you_ made me quit my job, remember?"

"Ah, of course not," Kisuke replied, straightening his posture and snapping his fingers. Tessai brought forward a small metal lock-box and opened the lid, producing a stack of bills from inside and holding them out toward her.

"I'm not sure I even want to know _how_ you made this money," Daria said as she took the bills from Tessai's hand, counting out a few before placing the rest back into the lock-box.

"Are you suggesting that we obtained our financial security by ill-gotten gains?" Kisuke asked, once more opening his fan and hiding his face behind it.

"I haven't seen a single customer enter this shop since I got here," Daria pointed out. "You got this money _somehow_. I'm just saying I don't want to _know_ how."

She looked down at the list in her hands as she mentally calculated how much the requested ingredients would cost, and then recounted the amount of money she had taken. Satisfied that it would be sufficient to cover the costs, she nodded to herself and wandered back into the house to grab her jacket and slip on her shoes.

"I'll be back soon," she called over her shoulder as she left the store, tucking the money into her jacket pocket.

"Take care!" Kisuke cheerfully called after her, waving with his fan. The smile fell from his face as soon as she closed the door behind her, and he turned his attention toward Tessai.

"I thank you for not trying to go in her place, Tessai-san," he said, his expression serious.

"I figured you had a reason for sending her, instead of asking me to go," the larger man replied.

"I do," Kisuke told him, smirking a bit. "Hopefully, Renji isn't slacking off somewhere. I would hate for the girl to end up injured again."

* * *

><p>Daria sighed as she shifted the bag of groceries she was carrying in her arms, brushing some hair that had come loose from her ponytail out of her eyes. She had been nervous at first about going out alone, but thankfully she hadn't come across any hollows or those other creatures during her trip to the market. Only a few more minutes, and she would once more be back within the safe confines of the Urahara Shop.<p>

She hated being trapped there, but she was relieved that she had finally found a place where she didn't have to worry about what was on the other side of the door when she came home. She would never admit that to Kisuke, though. It would likely go to his head and cause him to be even more insufferable. She could just imagine him hanging all over her, flirtatiously insisting that he was her 'hero' – and Yoruichi standing nearby, giving her a deadly glare.

A shudder ran down her spine. The idea of being faced with Yoruichi again after their last confrontation filled her with cold dread. Her arm was _still_ marked with the impression of her fingers where she had grabbed her after catching her and Kisuke in that compromising position. He'd provided a believable excuse, but she was sure the woman didn't really buy it even if she _did_ let her go. Part of her wondered if that was why she hadn't seen the other woman since that morning. Perhaps she and Kisuke had had a particularly nasty fight and then Yoruichi had taken off.

The shudder ran down her spine once more, and Daria stopped walking as she realized it wasn't being caused by the memory of Yoruichi's stony glare. She remained completely still, listening carefully to her surroundings. A cool breeze blew in her direction, bringing with it the scent of death, and then she heard it: The unmistakable sound of a hollow roaring nearby. She knew she should get the hell out of there, and that she could probably make it back to the shop before the hollow made it to her current location, but it was as though her feet were cemented into place.

"Look out!" Renji called, running up behind her. Daria quickly stepped out of the way as he sprinted past her, his sword at the ready, and gasped softly as it came into contact with a hollow that she swore hadn't been in front of her only a moment before.

"You're good," the hollow said, holding Renji's sword in its fist. "I thought I had perfectly hidden my presence."

"Then you don't know who you're dealing with," Renji replied, grinning.

"You're right, I don't," the hollow said, sounding bored. "Care to enlighten me?"

"I am Renji Abarai, Lieutenant of Squad 6 and your personal executioner."

The hollow threw back its head and laughed heartily, causing Renji's grin to widen even more.

"Something funny?" he asked.

"Just that a puny little shinigami such as yourself thinks he can defeat someone such as me with that pathetic sword."

"You're right," Renji said. "I almost forgot... Howl, Zabimaru!"

The hollow's triumphant laughter died off as the sword in its hand transformed into its shikai state, and Renji let out a slight grunt of exertion as he used his reiatsu to extend the segments and sent the end of the blade crashing into the hollow's head. Caught by surprise, the hollow released its grip on the sword and Renji brought his hand down in a sharp movement which caused his whip-like weapon to arc and slice through the dumbfounded creature.

"That was too easy," he said confidently as he resealed his zanpakutou's power and placed the katana back into its sheath. Daria agreed. That hollow had been defeated entirely too easy, and despite the fact that it was now disintegrating into the air, she could still feel that chill at the base of her spine.

"Renji, look out!" she called as she saw the three dark creatures pounce onto him from above. Renji looked up, his hand going back to the hilt of his sword, and pulled out his zanpakutou just in time to slice through one of them before it sank its teeth into his face. The attack left him wide open, however, and the other two managed to overpower him and wrestle him to the ground.

"Stop it!" Daria yelled, dropping the bag of groceries and running toward where Renji had fallen. She knew she couldn't take them on her own, but hoped that maybe she could distract them enough so that Renji could once more gain the upper hand and defeat them.

One of the creatures turned to look at her, its glowing red eyes causing her to stop dead in her tracks. It continued staring at her, growling in the back of its throat, its head tilted to one side as if it was actually considering what she had said.

"Leave him alone," she told it, her voice quiet and afraid. She knew that if those things came after her, she probably wouldn't be able to get away fast enough to avoid being injured, but she had survived a brush with death once already and had faith that Tessai would be able to heal her a second time as long as she didn't end up dead for her trouble.

The black creature tilted its head more, then bent low to the ground. Daria thought it was about to attack, but then it turned to the other creature that was holding Renji down and made another strange, growling noise. Then, suddenly, both of the creatures let Renji go and took off running down a dark alley. Daria remained frozen to the spot for a moment, marveling at what had just happened, then continued over to Renji and knelt next to him as he sat up, groaning.

"Are you alright?" she asked, looking him over. He didn't seem to be injured at all, merely dazed, and he shook his head as if he had just come to after passing out.

"What the hell just happened?" he asked in return, looking at her. "Are _you_ alright, Daria? I tried to fight off those things, but their presence just knocked me dead on my ass."

"What are you talking about, Renji?" Daria wondered. "What do you mean about 'their presence'?"

"You mean you didn't feel that?"

"Feel what?" Daria asked him, confused.

"Nothing, just forget it," he insisted, pulling himself to his feet and brushing the dirt off his clothes. He then pulled a small glass vile from within the folds of his shihakushou and pulled the stopper out of it, bending down to collect some of the black ooze that was left behind by the creature he had killed before it could completely disappear into the ground. Satisfied with the sample, he recapped the vial and stashed it away once more before standing and heading toward the groceries Daria had dropped.

"Come on, let's get back to the shop," he told her as he picked up the few items that had fallen out of the bag and placed them back inside before picking the sack up to carry it for her. "Kisuke will be wanting this sample right away."

"Kisuke..." Daria said his name under her breath as she mentally replayed what had just happened, as well as everything he had told her before about hollows.

"Dammit," she swore, standing from her kneeling position and turning toward Renji, her eyes narrowed angrily. "This was a setup, wasn't it? He _knew_ I would be attacked again if I went outside, didn't he?"

"I uh..." Renji muttered, scratching the back of his head with his free hand and shrugging. "I don't know. All he told me was to be on the lookout for one of those black creatures and to get a sample of one after I've killed it."

"I'm going to kill him," Daria growled, turning on her heel and storming off in the direction of the Urahara Shop. Renji watched her silently for a moment before following her, wondering if perhaps he should be genuinely afraid for the former captain's life.


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter Thirteen

"Kisuke!"

Daria stormed into the shop, angrily shouting his name, pausing just long enough to kick off her shoes and violently pull off her jacket. She balled the jacket up as she continued walking and threw it angrily onto the floor of the back room, then stood with her hands on her hips as she surveyed her surroundings. A half-empty cup of tea sat on the low table, right in front of his usual spot, but the man she was looking for was nowhere to be seen.

"Tessai, where is he?" she demanded as the large man entered the room to see what all the commotion was about, drying his hands on a dish towel. He blinked in surprise at seeing her so agitated, since she had been nothing but congenial the entire time she'd been staying at the shop.

"I believe he went to his room to rest," he told her.

Daria immediately walked out of the room and went upstairs, her footsteps falling heavily on each step as she swiftly ascended them to the second floor of the house.

"Might want to get a mop ready," she called back over her shoulder. "You're going to need it when I'm through with him."

She continued stalking toward the end of the hall and didn't bother knocking before violently throwing open the door to his room, her mouth set in a firm scowl as she thought up some _very_ choice words for her 'gracious host.' The words died in her throat, however, as he eyes fell on the scene before her: Kisuke was currently lounging on his futon, propped up slightly on his arms, his hat discarded on the floor nearby... and standing before him was a _very_ naked Yoruichi.

"I... I'm sorry," Daria stammered before hastily closing the door once more and heading quietly back downstairs to the sitting room, her face turning a vibrant shade of red.

Tessai asked her what was wrong when she entered the room, but she merely shook her head and sat before the cup of tea on the table, downing what remained of it in a single gulp and wishing it was something considerably stronger. She felt like an idiot for not realizing he was most likely with _her_. But what made her feel even _more_ stupid was how much seeing them together like that had affected her. He'd just looked so damn sexy sitting there – his pale hair a tousled mess and his grey eyes half-lidded, his shirt hanging open just far enough that she could actually _see_ the well-defined muscles of his chest that were normally hidden beneath his baggy clothes – that she couldn't help feeling a pang of jealousy toward the other woman. Conniving bastard or not, Kisuke Urahara was a _very_ attractive man.

"Shit," she muttered under her breath, covering her face with one hand. Tessai knelt next to her, one of his large hands resting softly on her shoulder.

"Miss Daria, is everything alright?" he asked, and she couldn't help but smile at how gentle and concerned he sounded. It was a stark contrast to his imposing physical stature.

"Just a headache, Tessai," she told him, shaking her head a bit.

"I think I have just the remedy for that," he stated, then stood up and wandered out of the room. Daria groaned a bit, regretting her choice of words. In her short time at the Urahara Shop, she had learned that Tessai greatly enjoyed trying 'herbal remedies' he saw on television or in print ads. _Sometimes_ they worked, but from what she had heard from the children they mostly caused Kisuke to end up locked in the bathroom for most of the night.

She had to tell him _something_, though. Something _other_ than the truth: That she had developed the hots for his employer, who was currently upstairs getting it on with his girlfriend, much to her chagrin. She knew she couldn't let Kisuke or Yoruichi find out about her feelings toward him. _He'd_ probably suggest she join them for a threesome, while Yoruichi would probably end up slitting her throat in her sleep.

Sighing heavily, she looked down into the empty cup in her hand, once more wishing for something infinitely stronger than tea.

* * *

><p>"Shit," Kisuke muttered, blinking at the now-closed door to his room. He hadn't expected Daria to come storming in, although he probably should have. She wasn't stupid, and he knew she would probably figure out that he'd set her up when he sent her out for groceries, but he really hadn't thought she would go so far as to just barge in like that.<p>

Yoruichi laughed hysterically, and his eyes darted to where she was still standing at the foot of his bed, stark naked. She knew _exactly_ what this situation had probably looked like to Daria, and so did he. Normally, he'd find the situation as amusing as she did, but he had been depending upon Daria's attraction to him to keep her from fleeing. Now that she thought he and Yoruichi were sleeping together, her little fantasies about him would be ruined. Even if she _wasn't _harboring secret, lustful thoughts about him, the mere fact that she believed she'd walked in on them mid-coitus could possibly cause her to feel so absolutely uncomfortable being around either of them that she'd be more than willing to risk death just to get out of the house.

Sighing, he stood up and retrieved his hat from the floor, brushing it against his pant leg before placing it securely on top of his head. He then turned toward Yoruichi – who had finally brought her laughter under control – and gave her a rather stern look.

"I gotta go do some spin control," he told her before turning back toward the door. "You finish getting dressed."

"Kisuke, wait," Yoruichi said, stepping toward him and placing a hand on his arm. "Maybe you should let _me_ talk to her."

"Why?" he asked, looking at her once more. "She's afraid of you, in case you didn't notice."

"Yes, but... I um... Well..." she stammered, looking a bit embarrassed.

"Yes?"

"I sort of _already _led her to believe we were sleeping together," she admitted.

"What? When?" Kisuke asked her, his eyebrows knitting together in confusion within the shadows of his hat.

"Last week, the day I found her in your workshop with you," she told him. "I told her I'd been sleeping in your bed, and she assumed that meant..."

She let her voice trail off and Kisuke sighed. He knew _exactly_ what Daria had assumed that meant.

"Besides," she continued, "it might be easier if this is dealt with woman-to-woman. Know what I mean?"

Kisuke watched her silently for a moment, then nodded slightly. Yoruichi wasn't usually one for 'girl talk,' but this seemed like one of those situations where his usual brand of pep talk wouldn't quite suffice. He knew he could probably diffuse the situation himself, but a part of him worried he might say the wrong thing and just come across as a greedy pervert trying to get _two_ women into his bed.

Yoruichi patted his arm, giving him a reassuring smile, and began making her way to the door.

"Yoruichi-san?"

"Yeah?" she said turning back to look at him over her shoulder.

"Clothes?" he reminded her, gesturing toward her nude body with one hand.

Yoruichi made a slightly disgusted face, but didn't argue with him about it. Instead, she merely dressed in silence as she watched him closely out of the corner of her eye. It seemed strange to her, the way he was so concerned over whether or not Daria knew the truth about their relationship. Kisuke was the sort of man who generally didn't give a crap what people thought of him, preferring to be himself and damn the consequences. She knew he'd never admit the _real_ reason he was upset Daria had found them together the way she did, though. He probably didn't even _know_ the real reason. He might be a genius when it came to scientific things and military strategy, but he was a complete dunce when it came to his own feelings.

"Stop worrying," she told him as she pulled her orange jacket on over the black top she always wore. "I'll set her straight. And I promise I'll be nice to her about it."

Kisuke merely nodded, still frowning a bit, and she wanted to smack him up the back of his head and remind him that the girl he was so fixated on could still be dangerous for all they knew and that he'd promised to back off until they knew for sure that she was safe. Giving him a slight smile, she made her way out of the bedroom and down the hallway, running into Renji as he was making his way up the stairs.

"Hey, is Urahara in there?" he asked, pointing toward the bedroom door. Yoruichi nodded in response and he thanked her, continuing on his way with a worried look on his face. She paused for a moment, watching him, wanting so badly to following him and find out what had him so visibly shaken. She had a mission, though, and until she finished what she had set out to do her curiosity would have to wait.

Sighing a bit, she went downstairs and found Daria alone in the sitting room behind the shop. She was seated in Kisuke's usual spot, staring into an empty cup as she rubbed her right temple as though she was fending off an oncoming headache. Yoruichi stood silently in the doorway for a moment, just watching her, then loudly cleared her throat to alert the other woman of her presence. Daria looked in her direction and her eyes suddenly went wide in fear as she sat up straight, the hand that had been holding the cup quickly pulled back and placed at her side in a manner similar to that of a child who had been caught trying to sneak a cookie before dinner.

"I'm sorry for the way I barged in like that, Miss Yoruichi," she said quickly, her voice trembling slightly in fear. "I really should have knocked. It won't happen again, I promise."

"Don't worry about it," Yoruichi told her, shaking her head as she approached the table and sat down with a heavy sigh. "You weren't interrupting anything."

"Even so, it was wrong of me to just walk in on such a private moment between you and Ki- Urahara," she corrected herself, remembering how much the woman had disliked her calling him by his first name.

"You don't understand, Daria. He and I-"

"I should probably apologize to him, too," she cut her off, standing up from her seat.

"We're not lovers," Yoruichi said, grabbing her hand before she could walk away. Daria looked down at her, green eyes narrowed slightly in disbelief.

"You're not?"

"No," Yoruichi assured her, shaking her head. "We're not."

"Then what the hell did I walk in on?" Daria asked, her face contorted in confusion.

"I was getting dressed," Yoruichi explained. "Kisuke is used to seeing me naked like that. We grew up together – along with Tessai – and he's like family to me. So really, sleeping with him would be like having sex with my little brother, which would just be _so_ gross. Besides..."

"Besides... what?" Daria wondered, slowly sitting back down at the table.

"How does that saying go?" Yoruichi mused, scratching her head in thought. "Something to do with baseball... I don't pitch right?"

"You... play for the other team?" Daria suggested, blinking in surprise.

"That's it!" Yoruichi exclaimed, pointing at her and smiling. "So you see, Kisuke is _definitely_ not my type."

"Then why did you lead me to believe that the two of you were involved?" Daria asked, reaching out and grabbing the empty cup once more, both a bit angry that she had led her on and relieved that she and Kisuke _weren't_ really sleeping together.

Yoruichi noticed the shift in her demeanor, as well as the way she was staring at the cup in her hand – _Kisuke's_ cup, she realized – and a smirk began to tug at her lips as she leaned closer to the other woman, propping her chin in one hand.

"You like him, don't you?" she practically purred. Daria sputtered a bit, her eyes going wide as she looked up at her once more, and a blush immediately began creeping across her cheeks. "I knew it!"

"I do _not_ like him," Daria insisted. "He's a conniving bastard and he almost got me killed. Which reminds me..."

Daria slammed the cup down onto the table and stood up, storming out of the room and back upstairs to Kisuke's room. This time, she paused outside his door and knocked, then waited patiently for him to come see who his visitor was.

Kisuke had barely opened the door when a fist came into direct contact with his face. He cried out in surprise at the sudden assault and brought a hand up to gingerly touch the corner of his mouth, wincing slightly when he pulled his hand away and saw a trickle of blood staining his fingertips. He had come to expect such unannounced attacks from Yoruichi, but it had been Daria who delivered the blow, and she was now standing in front of him with both of her hands clenched into fists at her sides and her eyes narrowed into vicious-looking slits as she stared him down.

"Why did you just hit me?" he asked her, though he already knew the reason.

"Because you deserved it," she stated matter-of-factly. "You damn near got me _killed_, Kisuke."

"Yes, but it was a necessary risk," he argued. "We needed a sample from one of those creatures that had been attacking you, and since they only attack _you_, well... You understand, right?"

"You could have at least _warned_ me what you were up to," told him.

"If I had told you I was sending you out because I needed to use you as bait to draw those creatures into the open, you never would have set foot outside of the store," he pointed out to her. "I'm sorry I deceived you, but you weren't hurt, were you?"

"Well... No, but-"

"Then everything turned out alright," he said cheerfully. "You got home safely, and I got the sample I needed. Everything worked out just fine in the end, see?"

"What about Renji?" Daria asked. "He _did_ get hurt. It's only by some miracle that those things took off without killing him, you know."

"Actually, I'm fine," Renji called from where he was sitting on the floor in Kisuke's room. "Just a few scrapes and bruises. Believe me, I've suffered _much_ worse injuries."

"Shut it, Renji," Daria snapped, her eyes flickering toward him briefly before she went back to staring Kisuke down. "You _aren't_ sorry, Kisuke. Even if there _had_ been another way to go about getting that sample, you _still_ would have sent me out there as bait."

Kisuke sighed. "I never would have sent you out if I didn't know someone was already out there who would be able to protect you. Trust me, Daria, I would never willingly put you into a position where you could be harmed."

"Trust has to be _earned_, Kisuke," she told him quietly, throwing his own words back at him before turning around and heading into her room across the hallway, closing the door firmly behind her.

Kisuke sighed heavily and leaned against the doorway of his own room, staring at the closed door, and wondered if he had just royally screwed up. She couldn't be expected to trust him and stay there if he played games with her and used her for bait. She had every right to be angry with him, and he had cheapened her feelings by being his usual, flippant self.

Several feet down the hall, Yoruichi smirked at him. She had watched the entire scene unfold from a safe distance, surprised that he actually let Daria hit him. She knew he could have easily dodged that punch or at the very least stop it from coming into contact with his face, but he had taken it as if he hadn't expected it was coming. That was the first uncharacteristic thing he'd done in the last five minutes. Then second was the odd tone his voice had taken on when he told her he'd never allow her to be hurt. Yoruichi had heard him make promises to women before – usually as a means to help him get into their pants – and he had _never_ sounded as dead serious as he did when he made that promise to Daria.

It was an interesting development, to say the least. She could tell they were attracted to each other, even if Daria was in denial and Kisuke was oblivious. She sincerely hoped that Daria turned out to not be a danger to any of them just so she could get a kick out of watching the two of them figure it out for themselves.

As long as they didn't kill each other, first.


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter Fourteen

Kisuke sat alone in the darkness of his workshop, arms crossed over his chest and eyes closed as he kept his head bowed in thought. His own examination of the sample Renji had manged to get for him had brought him no closer to identifying the nature or origins of the creatures that kept trying to attack Daria. He knew the Research and Development team in Soul Society would likely have better luck at coming up with answers, but he had hoped he might be able to determine _something_ about them. He wondered if maybe he was losing his touch.

He was also growing increasingly concerned about whatever powers those creatures possessed. Renji told him that during this most recent confrontation he had felt the same sort of dark reiatsu as he had experienced coming from Daria that afternoon he had been watching over her. Kisuke had asked him to describe it in as much detail as possible, and Renji had explained that he felt as though he was drowning and unable to breathe. He had actually lost consciousness briefly during the attack, but Daria had been unfazed by their presence and didn't even seem to notice anything out of the ordinary besides them being there. Just another mystery about the girl he had to add to his list.

He hated to admit it, but the more time that went by and the more he found out about her, the more he wondered if Yoruichi was right. Whatever these things were, they were undoubtedly connected to Daria somehow. They possessed some sort of powers which she appeared to be immune to, and judging by what Renji said she might _also_ even possess the same or similar powers, herself. Perhaps he was wrong. Maybe she really _was_ in league with these things, whatever they were, and was just putting on an act in order to get close to them and pick them off, one-by-one.

But the fear... It had been real. Kisuke could feel it emanating from her when she talked about her mother's death and how those creatures had been there, and again later that same day, which was what had drawn him to her room to check on her. You couldn't _fake_ that. You could fake a facial expression to show fear, but not the way it affected your reiatsu.

A frustrated sigh escaped his lips as he brought up a hand to rub his tired eyes. He was used to easily finding the answers and coming up with solutions when he set himself upon the task of researching something, not ending up with even _more_ questions. He would have his answers soon enough, though. He had just about completed the device he had spent the better part of the past two weeks working on. In a few more days, he would be able to gather the data he needed to send to the Soul Society and see what Mayuri made of it. _Then_ he would have the answers he needed... hopefully. All he would have to do is get Daria to follow his plans, which might prove to be a bit troublesome.

Kisuke winced a bit as he thought back to the fight they'd had. A week had passed since then, and in that time she had barely looked his way, let alone said a word to him. Part of that was his fault, really, since he'd remained locked in his workshop pretty much all the time. He knew he had to make an effort to clear things up with her, but he had no idea what to say. Simply apologizing for his actions didn't seem like it would suffice. Thankfully, Yoruichi had talked to Daria shortly after their argument and smoothed things over enough that she agreed to stay. Kisuke had questioned her motives for doing such a thing, knowing full well she didn't trust the other woman, but his best friend had merely shrugged and told him they needed answers – all the while wearing a smirk which he knew meant she was up to something.

He vaguely wondered why it even mattered to him what she thought of him. He'd never been the self-conscious type, always laughing off whatever insults others threw his way. Most of the time they were dead-on, anyway. Something about the look in her eyes when she'd confronted him, though... That look of betrayal bothered him relentlessly. Yoruichi asked him why he'd let her punch him instead of blocking the oncoming blow, and he'd told her that he was only taking the punishment he knew he deserved for what he'd done to her. She trusted him when he told her she'd be safe leaving the store for a short while, even though he knew she'd likely end up getting attacked and possibly injured. He mentally kicked himself upon realizing that he could have gone _with_ her and killed two birds with one stone: Providing the protection she needed, while also being present to gather his own sample for his research.

Stifling a yawn, he stood from his desk and turned off the small lamp, then grabbed his hat from its perch at the corner of the desk and placed it back on top of his head before making his way through the dark workshop. Without the lamp it was nearly pitch black, but he knew his way around well enough to not even brush up against a single instrument within the room as he headed for the door. For the last two weeks, he had been largely sleeping in the workshop, dozing off when he became too exhausted to continue his experiments. Perhaps a nice, restful night of sleep in his own bed would do him some good and help him figure out a few things.

* * *

><p>Daria swore under her breath as she looked at her watch, hoisting her school bag up higher onto her shoulder as she increased her pace even more. She was supposed to be home over half an hour ago, but choir practice had gone on later than she anticipated. Her mother would understand her reason for being late for dinner, but she still didn't like breaking her promise to be home on time. Tonight was one of the few nights her mother had off, after all, and eating together was such a rare occurrence these days that she relished the opportunity to actually have a real conversation transpire between the two of them.<p>

A small yelp escaped her lips as her foot hit an uneven piece of sidewalk, causing her to pitch forward sharply. She managed to catch her balance before she fell on her face, though, and continued running toward the building where she and her mother lived in a small apartment. The place seemed bigger now, with Nana Katja gone, but it was still smaller than where most of her classmates lived. They had _real_ families, though. Not that Daria thought badly of her own family... She just wished things were different, sometimes.

Her father had died when she was only a few months old, but she never really found out how. Every time she asked, her mother grew too upset to speak, and all Nana Katja would say was that there had been an accident. Her mother rarely spoke of her father, the memories of their happy time together causing her too much pain, but on occasion she would relate a story to Daria about something particularly sweet or funny he had done. There were only two things she really had of her father, besides a photograph of him with her mother: The pendant he'd had made for her after she was born – which she had never taken off since the day it was given to her – and a song he had written for her mother, which had been sung to Daria by her every day as a lullaby.

Daria sighed in relief as her building finally came into view several meters ahead of her, barely pausing to check for traffic before sprinting across the street. The moment she approached the first step of the building, however, she froze. Something didn't feel right. There was an odd, foreboding presence she couldn't quite put her finger on, and it was rooting her feet to the ground in cold dread. Her breathing slowly returned to its natural rhythm as she continued standing at the bottom of the concrete steps, staring intently at the front door of the building, afraid to go any further.

Reminding herself that she had made a promise to her mother, she forced herself to continue onward, taking each step at a much slower pace than she had previously been traveling. She opened the heavy oak door of the entryway with a shaky hand and stepped into the foyer of the building, her dread increasing tenfold as the foreboding sensation became stronger upon entering. Swallowing nervously, she took the stairs up to the second floor, where the apartment they lived in was, each step making the knot in her stomach tie itself tighter and tighter.

She paused again once she reached the front door of the apartment, her hand gripping the doorknob tightly. She slipped the key from her jacket pocket and silently unlocked the door, then cautiously pushed it open and looked around. The small living room was empty and dark, as though no one was home. She could smell food cooking in the kitchen, though, along with something else... Some unfamiliar scent which invaded her nostrils and made her feel sick to her stomach.

Leaving the door open behind her, Daria slowly made her way toward the kitchen. She called for her mother, but in her fear her voice came out as nothing more than a whisper.

She heard the thing before she saw it: A low, growling sound like some sort of a wild dog defending its meal. Another step forward and she could finally see into the kitchen, and it was the most horrific thing she had ever seen.

Her mother lay lifeless on the floor, eyes and mouth wide open in terror. Her throat and stomach had both been ripped open, spilling blood and intestines across the floor. And next to her body sat a man, holding a bloody dagger in his right hand while his left was covered in blood – her mother's blood. Next to the man was a terrible creature with glowing red eyes that looked like a burned, shriveled corpse. The creature noticed her presence before the man did and made another growling sound, drawing the man's attention toward her.

Daria looked at his face for a moment and then dropped her bag and turned on her heel, running out of the apartment and screaming for help. A few doors opened on the hall as she ran out of the apartment, but she just kept running. Out of the building, away from the horrible sight of her mother's mangled body. She ran until it hurt to breathe, then collapsed in the middle of the sidewalk and cried and begged for her mother. She knew it was no use, though. Her family was gone...

Daria shot straight up in her bed, eyes wide and full of tears. It had been _years_ since she'd had nightmares about her mother's murder, but they had been coming with increasing frequency lately. Usually, she was able to wake herself up as soon as she realized what was going on in her head, but this time she had been forced to relive the entire terrible ordeal. She remembered _exactly_ the way her mother had looked on the kitchen floor, the way the scent of the blood had mingled with the smells of dinner cooking, and that man's face.

She could _never_ forget that face. He'd been a few years older than she was now, probably in his mid-thirties, though he had one of those faces that made him appear younger. He had piercing blue eyes and red hair that was a bit long and fell into his face. He'd looked rather frightened when he saw her, as though he was afraid of being caught. She'd never seen him before in her life, but he'd known her name, somehow. She vaguely recalled him calling after her as she ran out of the apartment.

"Daria?"

Daria turned her head and found Kisuke standing in the open doorway of her room. She'd been so upset by her dream that she didn't even hear him enter. He took one look at her and, seeing the tears trailing down her cheeks, immediately went to kneel at her bedside, his mouth set in a concerned frown.

"What's wrong?" he asked gently, reaching up and smoothing his hand over her hair. Daria pulled away from his touch, bringing her knees up to her chest and wrapping her arms around her legs.

"It's nothing, just a bad dream," she told him, turning away from him to stare at the floor.

"Do you want to talk about it?" he asked in reply, causing her to shake her head.

"No, it's nothing," she insisted, still not looking at him. "I'll be fine."

Kisuke sighed and stood back up. "Well, if you change your mind... I'm right across the hall."

"Thank you," she muttered. "I appreciate it."

Kisuke nodded and hesitated a moment, then turned and left the room. Daria watched as he quietly shut the door behind him, wondering if she'd made the right choice by pushing him away. It had been ten years since her mother's death, and in that time she'd never really talked to _anyone_ about it, save for the police who had investigated the crime. Maybe that was where she'd gone wrong. Perhaps if she talked about it, got it off her chest, the dreams would finally leave her alone. She knew that wasn't likely, though, and that the real reason she'd been having the nightmares again lately was probably due to the reappearance of those creatures, but it really couldn't hurt to talk about it, could it?

Before she could talk herself out of it, she got up from the futon and rushed to her bedroom door, pulling it open. Kisuke was still standing on the other side, just about to go into his own room. They stood there silently for a moment, both of them holding open their bedroom doors, watching each other intently. Daria was the first to break the silence, taking a step out into the hallway toward him.

"On second thought, maybe I _would_ like to talk about it," she said. Kisuke nodded and stepped aside, holding the door to his room open for her, and she quietly thanked him and shut her own door before crossing the hall and entering the room ahead of him.

Kisuke watched her as he closed the door to his bedroom behind them, glad for the fact that Yoruichi wasn't spending the night on his futon, for once. He had a feeling that whatever was bothering Daria was rather personal, and he didn't think she'd appreciate him letting someone else sit in on their conversation.

"Can I offer you a drink?" he asked her as she looked around for a place to sit.

"Yes, _please_," she requested. Kisuke smirked a bit and went to the corner of the room, pried loose one of the floor mats, and pulled out a bottle of rare and expensive sake that he kept to himself. Normally, he reserved the drink for special occasions, but she seemed like she could use something particularly potent, so he decided to share just this once.

"Anywhere is fine," he told her as he noticed she still hadn't sat down, yet. "Sit on the bed, if you like."

"On the bed?" she asked him, raising an eyebrow suspiciously.

"I promise I won't try anything," he swore, chuckling a bit. "And if I do, all you need is to inform Yoruichi-san and she'll see to it that I'm rightfully punished."

Daria almost smiled at the comment, hesitating a moment before finally taking a seat on the futon situated in the center of the room. Kisuke watched her silently as she shifted around until she was comfortable, then went over and took a seat next to her.

"I hope you don't mind, I only have one cup," he said, holding out the empty sake cup toward her. Daria shook her head and took it from him, and he filled it for her from the bottle. "Enjoy this. It's the most expensive brand in all of Soul Society."

"How does someone in the real world get sake from Soul Society?" Daria wondered, eyeing him as she took a sip of the potent alcohol.

"I had Renji smuggle some out for me," he told her as he sat the bottle down nearby on the floor, then took off his hat and placed it by his pillow before running his hand back through his hair. Daria watched his every move, still sipping the sake, and quickly averted her eyes when he caught her staring at him.

"So tell me about this dream you had," he requested, reaching over and taking the cup from her and bringing it to his lips to take a drink.

"First, you tell me how you even knew I _had_ a nightmare," she replied, taking the cup back from him when he offered it to her once more.

"I already told you," Kisuke said, grabbing up the bottle to top off their drink. "I can feel when your spiritual energy changes. I was on my way to bed and I sensed something was wrong, so I decided to look in on you."

"You really don't have to be so worried about me, you know," Daria insisted, staring into the clear liquid in the cup. "I've been taking care of myself for the past ten years."

"Stop pretending you're so tough, Daria," he replied, drawing her attention back to him. "You act like you're okay, but I can tell you're not. You're scared to death. And that's okay, because we all have things we're afraid of."

"Even you?"

"Even me," he admitted. "But we're not here to talk about me. So, you going to tell me about this nightmare or are we just going to sit here and get drunk?"

Daria couldn't help but return his smile as he took the cup from her and once more drained it before refilling it and handing it back to her. Her smile fell a moment later, though, and she let out a heavy sigh before downing the entire cup full of sake in one large gulp, handing the empty cup back to Kisuke for another refill.

"I had a dream about my mother's murder," she told him once he had finished filling the cup again. He merely nodded, silently prompting her to continue. "I saw her body. She was... Whoever killed her slit her throat and sliced open her stomach. There was blood everywhere, and everything that was supposed to be on the _inside_ was _outside_ her body. And the smell... She'd been cooking, so the smell of blood was mixed with food and it was horrible."

"And you saw that creature?" he asked, remember what she'd said before.

"Yeah," Daria answered, nodding. "One of those creatures was there, hovering over her body. And next to it was a man with red hair – the man who killed my mother. He still had the bloody dagger in his hand."

"You _saw_ the man who killed her?"

"I did, but it didn't help," she told him, sighing and finishing off the sake again. "I gave the police his description, but they never found him. He found me, though."

"What do you mean?" Kisuke asked for his own clarification as he filled the cup for her once more.

"I used to live in London, before moving here to Japan," she informed him. "One day, I saw him lurking in the shadows of an alley, watching me. So I took off."

"You think he's still stalking you?"

"I don't doubt it," Daria said, shaking her head as she began sipping the sake again, her hand shaking slightly. "Not one bit. Those things, whatever they are, they're tied to him. If _they're_ showing up, he can't be far behind. I really shouldn't even be here, but I'm tired of running."

"Why do you say that?" Kisuke wondered, realizing he had slowly been moving closer to her as she spoke.

"Because... Because I'm going to cause you all to get hurt," she said, holding back tears. "It's obvious that _I'm_ the one he was after all along, not my mother. He wouldn't keep coming after me if that wasn't the case."

"Daria, you can't know for sure if-"

"If I hadn't been late getting home that night, maybe she'd still be alive," she sobbed, cutting him off.

Kisuke sighed and took the cup from her hands, setting it on the floor next to to bottle of sake, then wrapped his arm around her shoulders and pulled her close. Daria buried her face against his shoulder and cried, apologizing and insisting it was her fault.

"It's not your fault, Daria," Kisuke told her in a soothing voice, stroking her hair. "If you had gotten home on time he probably would have killed _both_ of you."

"How is _that _supposed to make me feel any better?" she grumbled through her tears.

"Let me try putting it this way," he replied. "Your mother may be gone, but I'm sure she's happy in the knowledge that you got away and were safe and that you're still alive. So don't go blaming yourself for this, because it's not your fault, okay?"

"You're right," Daria managed to say after a moment, nodding slightly.

Kisuke continued to hold her as she kept crying, allowing her to get all of her sadness and frustration out. All the while, his mind mulled over what she had told him. This red-headed man, whoever he was, appeared to be the one who was controlling the black creatures. So now he had three new questions that needed answers: Who was this man, how was he controlling those creatures, and why did he want Daria dead? He supposed the answer to the last one could be as simple as him knowing Daria had seen his face, but he'd eluded capture for her mother's murder for ten years so he wasn't entirely sure that was the reason.

Daria's crying began to taper off, but Kisuke made no move to let her go. She was warm and soft, and maybe it was just the sake but holding her felt good to him. She'd let her hair down out of the usual ponytail she kept it pulled back into, and he gently ran his fingers through the long, golden-brown locks, relishing the silkiness of the strands against his skin. He heard her let out a contented sigh, and though he could only see the top of her head he imagined the way her lips must have parted to allow the sound to escape. He suddenly began to feel rather hot all over – likely another side-effect of the sake – and shifted a bit uncomfortably. The movement caused Daria to make a small, disgruntled noise. Kisuke leaned forward slightly to look at her face and discovered that she had fallen asleep against him.

Smiling to himself, he carefully moved from his place beside her, holding her upright with both hands. Once he was no longer providing her support with his body, he gently laid her down on his futon and covered her up, deciding to allow her to sleep there for the night. He finished up what was left of the sake in the cup, then quietly placed the cup and bottle back in their hiding place and returned to watching over Daria. She rolled over in her sleep, pulling the covers tighter around her small frame and muttering something in Russian, and Kisuke brushed her hair back from her face and leaned over her, kissing her forehead.

Blinking in surprise at his own actions, he quickly sat upright once more and looked down upon her sleeping form with wide eyes. Deciding that he had had entirely _too _much to drink, and that remaining in the room with her might prove dangerous as a result, he stood from his spot by the bed and left the room, heading to her room across the hall. He figured she wouldn't mind if he slept in her bed, since she was occupying his.

Once in her room, he paused for a moment to look around. He hadn't been in there since she first moved in, and he was interested in seeing what she had done with the place. For the most part, everything was just as it had been before her arrival. A small table had been set up near the window, though, with a sort of memorial situated upon it. Kisuke went for a closer look and found over a dozen seashells crowded upon the table's surface, surrounding a picture of a young couple who he assumed were Daria's parents.

Frowning a bit, he picked up the photograph and studied the woman in it. There was something vaguely familiar about her. He assumed it was the eyes, since she had green eyes like Daria. Deciding that it wasn't important, he placed the picture back where he had found it and made his way to the bed, ready to get that good night's sleep he'd promised himself earlier.


	15. Chapter 15

Chapter Fifteen

Yoruichi yawned loudly as she walked down the upstairs hallway, stretching her arms high above her head. She wanted to sleep in, but she knew she had to get back to Kisuke now that she had delivered the sample to Mayuri Kurotsuchi in order to be thoroughly analyzed. Actually, she wouldn't have _had_ a reason to want to sleep in if a certain captain and former protégé of hers hadn't insisted on keeping her up half the night. Not that she minded, really. They rarely saw each other these days, after all, with her spending most of her time in the world of the living with Kisuke and the others as they bided their time waiting for Aizen to make his next move. So she couldn't blame Soifon for wanting to spend as much time together as they could during her brief visit to Soul Society.

She didn't bother knocking when she reached Kisuke's room. Knowing him, he was probably still in bed, anyway. She'd checked his workshop first and found it empty, much to her relief and surprise. He had barely left that room in two weeks straight. It was awfully reminiscent of the way he'd been before becoming a captain, locking himself away in his quarters for days at a time in order to work on research and experiments. Thankfully, though, he now had enough sense to not neglect his basic needs the way he did when he was her third seat. She probably had Tessai to thank for that, knowing the other man often worried about Kisuke almost as much as she did. Still, she'd been marginally shocked to find that he wasn't slumped over his desk, dozing. She assumed that meant he had finally completed whatever it was he had been working on, and hoped that he would now tell her what it was rather than saying "you'll see when it's finished."

Yawning once more, Yoruichi slid open the door to his room, her eyes closed as she stepped across the threshold with her hand covering her mouth.

"I dropped off your sample like you asked," she said through her yawn, rubbing the back of her neck with one hand. She opened her mouth to continued speaking, but words failed her when she looked down and didn't see a head full of messy blonde hair peeking out from beneath the covers. Instead, she found Daria lying in his bed, the comforter pulled snugly around her as she slept, a content smile on her face.

Yoruichi blinked a few times, looking around the room. It was definitely Kisuke's room. She hadn't accidentally made a wrong turn at the end of her hall in her sleep-deprived state. So why the hell was _Daria_ in his bed? And where was _he_? Deciding that now was not the time to be considerate and let the girl continue sleeping, she stepped forward and placed a foot firmly on her shoulder and shoved her a bit roughly onto her back. Daria woke up immediately, eyes flying wide open and then squinting closed as they were assaulted by the bright light of the morning sun filtering in through the window.

"What the hell is this?" Yoruichi demanded. "Why are you here?"

"Excuse me?" Daria replied wearily, shielding her eyes with one hand as she attempted to focus on the person addressing her.

"Why are you in Kisuke's bed?" Yoruichi asked, thinking maybe she should rephrase the question in order to emphasize what she wanted to know. A sudden thought hit her and she gasped softly, her face scrunching up slightly in a mixture of anger and disgust. "Do _not_ tell me you two had sex last night."

"_What_?" Daria said, dropping her hand to her side and blinking against the sunlight a few times before focusing on the woman standing before her next to the bed.

"I swear, if you two slept together..." Yoruichi stated, letting the threat hang in the air between them as she pointed a menacing finger into Daria's face. Daria shook her head in response as she continued looking up at the other woman, pulling the comforter protectively up in front of herself as if it could somehow shield her from her wrath.

"I swear, nothing happened," Daria insisted as her expression gradually turned to one of confusion. "At least... I don't _think_ anything did."

"You don't _think_ anything did?" Yoruichi echoed, her voice rising slightly. Daria flinched away, and she felt a little bad that she was making the younger woman feel threatened. It was really _Kisuke_ she was mad at. The horny bastard had _promised_ to keep his hands to himself, then he went and broke that promise the very moment she wasn't around to catch him.

"We were drinking and talking last night," Daria said quietly, scratching her head in thought. "I remember him holding me and running his fingers through my hair, but that's the last thing I can recall... Wait!" she exclaimed, holding the comforter away from her body and peeking underneath. "I'm still dressed."

"That doesn't mean anything," Yoruichi grumbled, crossing her arms over her chest.

"Nothing happened, Yoruichi-san," Kisuke chimed in behind her, leaning in the open doorway of Daria's room as he lazily combed a hand back through his sleep-tousled hair. She turned to look as him and Daria leaned slightly to the side in order to see him around her.

"Really?" Daria asked, feeling more disappointed than she knew she should.

"I don't like to make a habit of taking advantage of drunk, emotionally vulnerable women," he assured her with a sleepy smile.

"Since when?" Yoruichi asked under her breath. Kisuke heard the comment, though, and gave her a dirty look.

"You fell asleep, Daria," he continued, returning his attention to her as he spoke. "I didn't have the heart to wake you, so I let you stay in my room and I slept over here last night. I hope you don't mind."

"No, not at all," Daria replied, shaking her head. "Thank you... for not taking advantage of me."

"I admit, it _was_ rather tempting," he said in a teasing voice, causing her to blush slightly. Yoruichi rolled her eyes and crossed the hallway, shoving Kisuke back into Daria's bedroom.

"We need to talk," she stated firmly, glancing at Daria over her shoulder before closing the bedroom door so they could speak privately.

"Uh... Yoruichi-san? This is Daria's room," he reminded her. "Shouldn't we be talking in _my_ room?"

"What _really_ happened last night, Kisuke?" she asked, ignoring his comment.

"I told you: We were drinking and talking and she fell asleep, so I left her there," he repeated with a weary sigh.

"Stop lying to me or I'm going to kick your ass," she informed him in a stern voice. "Daria told me you two were _cuddling_."

"She did?" he asked, blinking in confusion.

"Well, those weren't her _exact_ words. But what she was describing sure sounded like cuddling, to me."

"What did she tell you happened, exactly?" Kisuke asked, leaning back against the bedroom door, reaching up instinctively for his hat to pull it down and hide his eyes. He blinked when he realized he wasn't even _wearing _his hat, remembering that he left it by his pillow the previous night. Now he knew he was in for some trouble.

"She told me you were holding her and running your fingers through her hair," she told him, crossing her arms over her chest once more. "So what the hell happened to you promising me you wouldn't mess around with her any more?"

"Yoruichi-san... She had a nightmare," he explained. "She had a nightmare about her mother's murder, and she was upset so I was just comforting her."

"Are you sure that's _all_ that happened, Kisuke?" she asked him, looking him dead in the eye. "You didn't sneak a kiss or anything?"

"Of course not."

"Liar," she accused him. Kisuke sighed in defeat. Without his hat, he was helpless. Yoruichi could always tell when he was lying by the look in his eyes.

"Okay, so I _may_ have kissed her on the forehead after she fell asleep," he admitted. "No big deal."

Yoruichi stared at him silently for a long moment, then sighed deeply, reaching up to pinch the bridge of her nose as she closed her eyes.

"You're a fucking moron sometimes, Kisuke, you know that?"

"What?" Kisuke asked, blinking in confusion.

"You kissing her _is_ a big deal," Yoruichi told him, poking a finger into his chest.

"Like I said, I was just comforting her," he insisted. "Nothing more. I probably wouldn't have even done it if I hadn't been drinking."

"You are _so_ full of shit!" she replied, half laughing at him. "It takes a _lot_ to get you drunk. I know. You kissed her because you _wanted_ to, because you _like_ her."

"I barely know her," he argued.

"You're attracted to her," Yoruichi pointed out to him. "She's cute and she's a puzzle. You can't quite figure her out, and that draws you to her even more. You always _did_ have a thing for complicated women."

"So what if I _am_ attracted to her? Are you jealous?" he asked in a playful voice, earning himself a warning glare from Yoruichi. Kisuke sighed, his smile dropping.

"Look, I finished that device I was working on last night. Soon enough, we'll have our answers about her."

"And then what?" Yoruichi asked as he turned around and slid open the door, stepping partly through the open doorway before pausing to turn and look at her over his shoulder with a small grin.

"Then you'll be able to stop worrying about what I do with her in my bed... unless you'd want to join in," he teased. Yoruichi rolled her eyes but said nothing, choosing instead to glare at his retreating form as he went out into the hall and made his way downstairs for breakfast.

* * *

><p>Daria sat up in the bed in Kisuke's room, holding a hand to her throbbing head. That sake had been a lot stronger than she thought. Normally, she wouldn't have gotten drunk so easily. But she'd had quite a few drinks the previous night and now she was paying for it. She still didn't remember exactly how she ended up in Kisuke's bed, but she trusted him when he said nothing happened. It was probably a good thing nothing had, because she wouldn't remember it now, anyway.<p>

She blinked several times in surprise at her own thoughts. Did she actually _wish_ something had happened between them? Sure, he was a good-looking guy, but he was a lying, manipulative bastard with complete disregard for the safety and well-being of others. Of course, she knew that wasn't entirely true. _Complete_ disregard would mean he never would have insisted on her staying there where it was safe until they figured out some things about those dark creatures that kept popping up in her life. And the previous night he had actually been rather caring and attentive toward her, talking with her about her nightmares and allowing her to cry in his arms until she ended up passing out from the alcohol.

She knew that wasn't entirely the case, though. She hadn't _really_ passed out. She'd just felt so calm and peaceful with him holding her and running his fingers through her hair that she'd simply drifted off to sleep before she even realized she was tired.

Sighing a bit, she flopped back down onto the bed and buried her face into the pillow and groaned when she realized it smelled like him. Rolling over onto her back, she stared at the ceiling and wondered how she'd become so damn infatuated with someone who drove her insane half the time. She scoffed as she realized _that_ wasn't completely true, either. The only _really_ infuriating thing he'd done since her arrival there was intentionally send her out unprotected that one afternoon. All the other things – the teasing, the flirting, the innuendo – were likely just part of his normal personality. It made her wonder if any of the things he'd said or hinted at with her had ever been sincere.

"_Stop_ thinking about him!" she scolded herself, rolling over onto her side. It seemed that the fates weren't going to allow her to stop, however, as her eyes immediately fell upon his hat sitting on the floor next to the pillow.

No sooner had she laid eyes upon the hat than Kisuke opened the door across the hall and began stepping out of her room. He paused, turning to say something to Yoruichi that she couldn't quite hear, but she could tell by the tone of his voice and the look on the other woman's face that he was being his usual, cheeky self. To her surprise, he didn't come back into the bedroom with her, instead going downstairs without so much as a glance in her direction. It struck her as odd, not because she really expected him to pay her any attention but because he was never without that damn hat. It seemed strange that he would just leave it lying in his room and not even bother to retrieve it.

Daria grabbed the hat off the floor as she sat up and got up from the bed, deciding to take it to him. She stopped when she reached the hallway and found Yoruichi staring at her.

"What are you doing with that?" she asked, pointing to the hat in her hand.

"I, um..." Daria muttered, not even sure how to answer that question herself. She assumed it was obvious that she was going to take it to him, but she had no idea why she felt compelled to do so.

"He forgot his hat," she finally said, looking at the hat as she turned it around in her hands. She knew it sounded stupid, and she suddenly felt very foolish for what she had been about to do.

"I see," Yoruichi simply replied. "So, are you going to take it to him or not?"

Daria's eyes snapped up to her face, surprised by the lack of scorn in her voice. She was even more surprised to find the faintest of smiles on the dark woman's face. It was almost as if she could sense the silly little schoolgirl crush Daria was harboring for the owner of the hat.

"I... I suppose I will," Daria said, quickly turning and walking down the hall in the direction of the stairs as she felt a blush beginning to rise in her cheeks. It really was embarrassing, the way she was acting. She hadn't been so flustered over a member of the opposite sex since she was in high school. The problem, she realized, was that she wasn't quite sure what to make of her feelings toward him. They were a jumbled mess, thanks to the mixed signals she'd been receiving.

She didn't find him in the room behind the shop, where Tessai was busily setting the table for breakfast, so she instinctively knew he would be in his workshop. After all, most of his time since her arrival had been spent in that room. She didn't bother knocking when she reached the door, instead just walking in the way he usually did when he came to visit her in her own personal space of the house.

Daria blinked at the brightness she found within the workshop, used to the room being almost completely dark. She looked around for the source of the light and found no fixtures anywhere on the walls or ceiling. Curious about what was causing so much brightness to fill the room, she headed to where she had found him during her last visit. The light gradually faded as she went farther into the room, and by the time she reached the desk against the back wall it was nothing more than a mild glare.

The source of the light appeared to be some sort of spherical orb sitting on the desk. As Daria approached it, though, she realized it was actually floating a few inches _above_ the desk, hovering over some sort of short pedestal. The orb shimmered as it gave off its light, casting everything on the desk in a silvery-blue glow matching the color of the orb itself. Daria made a small, impressed sound as she placed the hat on the desk and reached out with one hand to touch the orb. The moment her fingertips made contact with its surface, tiny purple sparks appeared within its swirling light, as if they were being drawn from her body into the mass of the object. She looked around to make sure no one was watching her, then picked up the orb and held it in her hands, staring at it with childlike fascination as more and more sparks appeared and began swirling around within the orb's misty surface, giving it the appearance of being covered in purple glitter.

"Enjoying yourself?" Kisuke asked from behind her as she let out a small giggle. Daria gasped softly and turned to look at him, guilt written all over her face.

"Sorry," she apologized. "I know I shouldn't have, but it was just so pretty."

"Not to worry," he assured her, stepping over to the desk to stand beside her. "You can't harm it. It's merely a prototype."

"What is it, exactly?" she asked, still holding the object in her hands.

"It's an experimental new light source," he told her, grabbing his hat and placing it on top of his head, his eyes immediately becoming shrouded in darkness. "Uses less energy than traditional electrical lighting. Actually, it runs entirely on spiritual energy, so it requires no electricity at all."

"I see," Daria said, looking at the bizarre object once more before holding it out toward him. "Here you go."

"Just set it back down where you found it," he instructed her, taking a seat at the desk. Daria placed the orb back above the small pedestal, marveling at how it simply floated in the air once she let it go.

"Would you like me to let you know when breakfast is ready?" she asked him, watching as he began organizing various papers.

"I have some more work to do in here," he informed her. "Might as well just bring it to me. Oh, and thank you for bringing me my hat. I would have felt lost without it."

"You're welcome," she muttered, slightly bothered by the way he was avoiding looking at her. She opened her mouth to ask him what was wrong, then thought better of it and silently left the room, heading to the kitchen to see if Tessai needed any help.

"You can come out now," Kisuke called once she had left the room, prompting a feline Yoruichi to jump up onto the desk. She sat down on the corner of the desk, her tail dangling over the edge, a tiny smirk gracing her cat lips.

"You lied to her," she accused him.

"I had to," he explained, adjusting the hat on his head. "I couldn't very well tell her what that thing _really_ does."

"What _does_ it do?" Yoruichi asked, reaching toward it with one of her paws.

"Don't!" Kisuke ordered, grabbing her furry leg with one hand before she could make contact with the orb. "It only records the reiatsu of the _last_ person who touched it."

"I see," Yoruichi said thoughtfully. "That's why you didn't take it _from_ her."

"Exactly."

"May I ask what causes it to glow like that? If you ask me, it's eerily similar to the way the hougyoku looked."

"It's just aesthetic," he explained. "Nothing to be concerned about. I simply had to make sure she'd actually _touch _it. And who can resist playing with something shiny?"

"It's a good thing she's as simple-minded as you," Yoruichi humorously remarked.

"Hey," Kisuke said, sounding a bit insulted. "Need I remind you that _you_ were about to touch it, as well?"

Yoruichi let out a throaty chuckle. "So now what?"

"Now I send this to Mayuri and let him analyze it along with that sample you took to him," he said, grabbing a pair of tongs off the desk and using them to pick up the orb and place it into a small glass container. "Be sure to let him know not to allow anyone to touch it."

"Why do you always insist on sending _me_ with your deliveries to that psycho?" Yoruichi complained. "Why not have Renji do it?"

"Because he is _far_ more 'simple-minded' than I am," he told her, implying that the younger shinigami wouldn't be able to resist fooling with the orb and ruin their specimen.

"Very well," Yoruichi begrudgingly agreed. "It'll be worth the hassle to finally get some answers."


	16. Chapter 16

Author's Note: Yes, this chapter marks the return of the plushies. *ducks objects thrown in her general direction* Don't worry, though, they'll only continue to make brief, sporadic appearances throughout the story - probably at least one ruining an otherwise sweet moment between Daria and Kisuke.

* * *

><p><span>Chapter Sixteen<span>

Shunsui sat on the small porch of his private quarters in Squad 8's barracks, drinking sake as he looked out over the well-manicured lawn. He held an old, faded photograph in his hand which wasn't currently busy holding the bottle of his beloved alcoholic beverage, occasionally looking at it and letting out a wistful sigh before taking another hearty drink from the bottle.

"It's not even noon yet," Juushirou said as he walked up to him across the lawn. "Slow down or you'll be drunk before the captains' meeting this afternoon."

"Getting drunk was kinda the point," Shunsui remarked with a half-smile.

"Is that her?" Juushirou asked, pointing to the photograph in the other man's hand as he came to stand in front of him. Shunsui nodded, handing the picture over to him.

"I can't believe you still carry this with you, Shunsui," he remarked with a light chuckle.

"She was a special girl," Shunsui stated, removing his hat and setting it next to him. Juushirou laughed a bit more heartily as he took a seat on the other side of him on the porch.

"You've said that about _every_ woman you've ever been with," he reminded him, looking the picture over once more. The woman in it was small and fair-skinned, with golden-brown hair that just barely swept the top of her shoulders. Her hair was held back from her face with a ribbon that was nearly the same shade of green as both her eyes and the dress she was wearing as she sat on the hood of a car, a smile gracing her lips which made her entire face light up with joy.

"I mean it about her, though," Shunsui insisted. "That smile of hers was like... a beacon in a world full of darkness."

"I don't believe I've ever heard you waxing poetic about a woman before," Juushirou commented as he handed the photograph back to his friend, mildly surprised.

"Everyone in that damn town was always so serious," Shunsui said as he took the picture back with a sigh. "Even when they were drinking. I suppose they really drank to forget how bad their lives were rather than to have fun. But her... She was _always_ smiling and laughing, even though she had it just about as hard as all the rest of them. Said she refused to let the world get her down."

"You never did tell me her name, you know," Juushirou pointed out to him.

"I didn't?" Shunsui asked, looking at him in surprise. He assumed he had, since they had been best friends for half a millennium. Juushirou shook his head in response, his long white hair falling further into his eyes. "Oh... Well, it was Katja. Katja Yuriev."

"And you think this girl in Kisuke Urahara's care might be some relation of hers?"

"I don't doubt it one bit," Shunsui remarked, stowing the photograph away once more within the underside of the top of his hat. "The girl looks far too much like her not to be."

"Daria," Juushirou corrected.

"Pardon?"

"The girl's name is Daria," Juushirou informed him. "You know, perhaps you could speak to her and if she _is_ related to your Katja she could arrange a little reunion for the two of you."

Shunsui let out a throaty chuckle. "I sincerely doubt she'd want to see me again, Juushirou."

"Why wouldn't she?" he asked, though he had a very good idea what his answer would be. Knowing Shunsui, he had likely made her all sorts of promises of a future together in order to coerce her into bed with him. Promises he _knew_ he could never keep, especially with a human in the world of the living. Shunsui's eyes met his and his theory was wordlessly confirmed by the expression on his friend's face. Juushirou sighed heavily, closing his own eyes as he shook his head in mild disgust. "You never change, do you?"

"Even if I _hadn't_ made her any promises, it's been nearly fifty years," Shunsui pointed out to him. "How the hell would I explain why I haven't aged any in that amount of time?"

"Hmm, fair point," Juushirou thoughtfully acquiesced. "Oh well, perhaps we'll never know for certain. However, the _actual_ reason I came to see you is because I received word that Captain Kurotsuchi has just about finished his experiments on the samples Urahara sent him."

"Has he, now?" Shunsui drawled as he placed his hat back on top of his head, his interest piqued.

"Shall we go see what he's found out?" Juushirou suggested, standing up. Shunsui nodded in agreement, standing as well, and followed the other man away from the barracks and through the alleyways of the seireitei.

The two of them made their way toward the Department of Research and Development within Squad 12's area, stopping briefly at Squad 10's barracks so that Juushirou could invite Captain Histugaya to join them. The small captain politely refused the offer, saying he had double his normal amount of paperwork to do because his lieutenant had spent far too much time slacking off lately. When they finally reached their destination, they discovered a messily-scrawled note pinned to the outer door, reading: _Do not enter on punishment of death_. Shunsui merely laughed off the threat and pushed open the door, wandering right into the middle of the research facility with Juushirou close behind him.

"Can't you imbeciles _read_?" Mayuri sneered at them without turning away from the monitors at the front of the room. He didn't need to look to know who had invaded his sanctuary. Ukitake and Kyouraku always acted like they owned the place since they were two of the oldest and longest-standing captains in the Gotei 13.

"We came to check on the progress of your experiments, Captain Kurotsuchi," Juushirou politely explained, earning himself a glare of contempt. The head of the research department kept glaring at him until he leveled a gaze of his own at him, behind which the other man could sense the immense power the sickly captain actually possessed.

"Tch, very well," Mayuri conceded. "Report, underlings!"

"We have fully analyzed the reishi of the sample taken from the creature killed by Lieutenant Renji Abarai in the world of the living," answered Rin Tsubokura, his eyes glued to a glowing monitor in front of him. "In addition, we have compared the final analysis with that of the imprint taken by Kisuke Urahara of the subject's reiatsu."

"And what did you find?" Shunsui prompted.

"Both samples contained similar properties," Rin announced, attention still fixed on the screen before him as he brought up a pair of diagrams on one of the overhead monitors. "As you can see, it's not an exact match... but there _are_ several key likenesses between the two."

Half a dozen different sections on the two diagrams shown on the overhead monitor lit up as he spoke, moving to the side to mirror one another and further emphasize their similarities.

"Interesting," Juushirou mused, stroking his chin thoughtfully. "I wonder what that means?"

"Additionally," Akon continued, standing behind Rin and looking over his shoulder, "we have just discovered another unusual property within the girl's reiatsu."

"Shut up, you nitwit!" Mayuri ordered, hands clenched angrily at his sides. It was too late however, as both of the other captains had turned their attention fully toward the horned researcher.

"What sort of properties are we talkin' about here?" Shunsui asked.

"Do _not_ tell them any more!" Mayuri ordered.

"If _you_ don't tell us, I'm sure Yoruichi Shihouin will once you've given her your full report," Juushirou informed him, causing the other man to growl menacingly for a moment before giving up his argument.

"Fine, tell them," he spat before turning on his heel and stalking over to where his lieutenant had quietly been at work on another computer the entire time.

"Go ahead, Rin," Akon instructed, placing a reassuring hand on the younger man's shoulder.

"Right," Rin began, sounding a bit nervous. "It seems her reiatsu contains similar properties to that of a shinigami, as well."

"What are you saying?" Shunsui asked, blinking a few times as the information sunk in. "What, exactly, does that mean?"

"It's likely that she could have latent shinigami powers," Akon replied, turning to address him. "Much like we believe Ichigo Kurosaki did before he even came upon Rukia Kuchiki."

"But how could she have shinigami powers if she's human?" Juushirou wondered.

"She is not human," Nemu responded in a flat, emotionless voice. "The spirit ribbon she possesses is not white. It is black."

"That's right," Juushirou mused. "I remember you mentioning something about that before, Captain Kurotsuchi. But what does _that_ mean?"

"That's what we're trying to find out," Mayuri snapped at him over his shoulder before returning his attention to the monitor where Nemu was working. Juushirou and Shunsui wandered over to where they were, standing slightly behind the other captain as they viewed the text that was quickly scrolling across the screen.

"Can she actually _read_ all that?" Shunsui asked, pointing to the rapidly-changing words.

"Nemu possesses the ability to read close to one million words per minute," Mayrui stated proudly.

"Is this what I think it is?" Juushirou asked, pointing to the monitor.

"If you think that I have hacked into the Daireishokairo, then yes," Mauryi responded. "It was a necessary task in order to determine the exact origins of those creatures and the girl."

"And what have you found?" Shunsui questioned him, averting his eyes from the screen as the speed at which the words were flying by began to make him feel sick to his stomach.

"Nothing, yet," Mayuri answered, sounding quite annoyed. "Not a single file containing information about dark reiatsu or black spirit ribbons."

"Mayuri-sama," Nemu addressed her captain, and the three men turned their attention to the monitor before her once more.

"What is it, Nemu?" Mayuri asked, leaning over her shoulder to get a better look when he noticed the words on the screen had come to a standstill.

"I have located a file marked as classified information," she blandly announced. "How shall I proceed?"

"Decrypt it, you imbecile!" he instructed, smacking her hard up the back of her head. "You should know to leave no stone unturned in this search."

"Understood," Nemu responded as she set to the task, not even so much as blinking at the verbal or physical abuse bestowed upon her by her 'father.'

The three captains watched as she quickly worked, her fingers flying across the keys so rapidly that a normal human couldn't hope to ever be able to keep up. As they waited, Juushirou looked over at his best friend and found him with his hat pulled low to hide his face, one arm crossed over his chest while the other hand rested at his chin. To those who didn't know any better, it would seem as though he was starting to nod off, but Juushirou knew that look – Shunsui was lost in deep thought.

"What's on your mind?" he asked him quietly, grateful for the fact that Mayuri was too busy berating his lieutenant to take notice of their conversation.

"That black spirit ribbon means she's not human _or_ a shinigami," Shunsui muttered.

"So what do you think it means?" Juushirou asked, continuing to keep his voice down.

"I really don't know," Shunsui replied, lifting his head up to look at the other man with a hint of worry in his eyes. Juushirou gave him a reassuring smile, knowing that he was skirting around another issue by choosing to focus on the girl's spirit ribbon rather than the fact that her reiatsu had properties similar to those of a shinigami.

"The encryption has been broken," Nemu announced.

"And what does the file say?" Mayuri prompted in a condescending tone of voice.

Shunsui and Juushirou stepped closer to where they were in order to get a better look at the monitor themselves. Mayuri glanced at them and rolled his eyes, wondering why such idiotic old farts had so much interest in what was going on in the world of the living. Not just this time, but every other time something happened there they inevitably ended up in _his_ lab, getting in _his_ way and bothering him to no end.

"What the...?" Shunsui said, blinking in confusion.

"Well, this is certainly interesting," Juushirou remarked, raising an eyebrow.

Mayuri's jaw clenched and he began to grind his teeth as he stared angrily at the message in bold red letters flashing across the screen.

* * *

><p>Kisuke sat in the back room of his shop, sipping tea as he, Tessai, and Yoruichi quietly discussed the findings of Mayuri and his squad. Yoruichi had once more grown overly paranoid at the news that Daria's reiatsu shared several key elements with the dark creatures that had been tormenting her. The last week she'd taken to following her around in her feline form everywhere she went, and he hypothesized that by the end of the month she'd be following her around in human form in anticipation of having to fight her.<p>

Sighing heavily, he crossed his arms over his chest, his hands disappearing within his sleeves. Mayuri still hadn't been able to discover a cause or reason for Daria having an unusually-colored spirit ribbon. They had decrypted the file they had located within the Daireishokairo concerning the phenomenon, only to find yet another encryption lock on the document. So far, they had decoded thirty-seven different cryptograms – each one slightly more difficult to crack than the next – and still had nothing to show for it. It begged the question: What were the top leaders of Soul Society so desperate to hide?

"I _told_ you she couldn't be trusted," Yoruichi repeated. She'd said the exact same words several times a day since Kisuke relayed the news he had received from Juushirou Ukitake – an unusual source considering he only ever really had contact with the Department of Research and Development, and even _then_ the messages were typically relayed through Yoruichi, Renji, or Rukia. Apparently, though, Mayuri had planned to keep the information to himself until he could provide a full report... which was taking much longer than expected due to the snag they'd run into.

"We still don't know that for sure, Yoruichi-san," he argued. A part of him still wanted to believe that Daria was of no threat to them, even though all signs were beginning to point to her favor rather than his own. Ukitake had also informed him that they had discovered Daria may have latent shinigami powers, and he had told Tessai and Yoruichi that, as well. She had replied by saying that Aizen had shinigami powers, too, not-so-subtly suggesting that Daria could be in league with him as she had originally thought.

Sighing once more, he looked up at the ceiling. They were seated almost directly under Ururu's room, which Daria was currently cleaning. He and Tessai had told her numerous times that she didn't need to do anything around the house, but she had insisted on taking on some of the chores as much out of obligation to her hosts as due to the restless she was feeling from being cooped up in the house all day nearly every day for the past month. He closed his eyes and concentrated on her presence, trying desperately to sense whether or not she had any malicious intentions toward them. A loud thudding noise from above followed by a scream caught his attention, though, and his eyes flew open as he jumped to his feet and ran upstairs with both Tessai and Yoruichi in his wake.

"What's wrong?" he asked as he stormed into Ururu's room and found Daria sitting on the floor, looking terrified. She silently pointed in front of her and he followed her line of sight to a shelf just inside the door. Sitting upon the shelf were three plushies, two of which were trembling slightly while the third remained motionless yet still appeared to be frightened.

Yoruichi sighed angrily. "I _told_ you three not to alert her of your presence."

"We-We're sorry," the pink plushie in the middle replied. "She sneezed and I said 'gesundheit.' It was a natural reaction."

"What are they?" Daria asked, her voice shaking a bit. "Are they possessed or something?"

"They're mod souls," Kisuke explained, going over and offering her hand, then pulling her to her feet when he took it. "Remember those little green pills that Rukia and Renji took? Sort of like them, only they each have an individual personality and possess special powers that are useful in combat."

"But... they're _stuffed animals_," Daria pointed out. "How well could they really perform in combat?"

"We have our own gigai, you know," the little bird on the right end said, sounding insulted.

"Yes," the turtle on the opposite end said.

"We just prefer to be in this form while staying here at the shop," the rabbit in the middle added.

"Speak for yourself!" the bird replied, smacking the rabbit up the back of the head with one wing and sending him toppling forward onto the floor.

"Now, now, Ririn," Kisuke addressed the infuriated bird. "I know you don't like being locked into that stuffed toy, but you don't have to take it out on Kuroudo."

"They all have _names_, too?" Daria asked, still a bit in shock.

"Of course we have names!" the bird stated, jumping down from the shelf to stand next to the rabbit, who was pulling himself to his feet. "I'm Ririn. This is Kuroudo, and that's Noba."

"Pleased to meet you," the turtle said, bowing slightly as he stood up on the shelf.

"Does this mean we can stop hiding now?" Kuroudo asked, looking hopefully at Kisuke.

"I'm not really sure why Yoruichi-san insisted on you three keeping a low profile, in the first place," Kisuke stated, giving the woman a questioning look.

"She said it was for the best," Ririn replied with a shrug. "That we shouldn't reveal all our secrets to her."

"And is this everything, now?" Daria asked, addressing Kisuke as her gaze flickered momentarily toward Yoruichi. "Or are there _more_ surprises I should know about?"

"Well, actually–" Kuroudo began, but quickly stopped talking when Yoruichi narrowed her golden eyes at him in a threatening way.

"Actually... what?" Daria prompted, looking from the stuffed toy to Yoruichi, then back to Kisuke. "Kisuke, what else are you keeping from me?"

"Well," he began, reaching up with one hand to scratch the back of his head. "You see, Yoruichi-san here is–"

"Kisuke, don't you _dare_," Yoruichi warned. He looked over at her, the hand at the back of his head moving to the top of his hat and pulling it a bit lower to shield his eyes as he turned his attention back to Daria.

"She likes the ladies," he told her in a somewhat suggestive tone of voice. "And I daresay she's taken a keen interest in you." Both of the statements were true, but Daria had no way of knowing they weren't at all connected, and Yoruichi was able to keep her transformation ability a secret.

"I already knew that," Daria said, her cheeks tinging pink as she averted her eyes from the other woman. "The first part, anyway. And while I must say that I'm flattered about her being interested in me, I... sort of already have my eye on someone."

Kisuke blinked when her eyes shifted to him for a brief moment, a shy smile crossing her lips. He'd been mostly avoiding her since the night she spent in his room, deciding to heed Yoruichi's warnings until he could finally put her mind at ease about the girl. He expected that she would be annoyed with him for avoiding her after he'd been so nice to her while he would forget about the feelings he had been developing toward her, but now found that the exact opposite seemed to be true in both cases. He had had to stop himself numerous times from going into her room to check on her and see how thing were and if she had been having any more nightmares. Mostly because he knew that if she said she had, he would likely offer to let her sleep in his bed – _with_ him – and he knew if that happened, things were likely to progress out of control.

"That's a very nice necklace you have there, Miss Daria," Tessai remarked, gesturing toward the amulet which had fallen from within her shirt when she fell back onto the floor. Kisuke shook himself free of the lecherous thoughts that were threatening to enter his mind and turned to find her staring at the necklace as she held the emerald in the palm of her hand.

"Why is it that everyone's so interested in my necklace?" she wondered. "First Ururu and Kisuke and now you, Tessai. I don't get it. It's not that pretty."

"But it _is_ rather unusual to see an uncut gemstone such as that," Tessai pointed out, reaching out with one of his large hands. "May I?"

"Sure," Daria replied with a shrug, going over to him and allowing him to examine the pendant. He stared silently at the symbol etched into the surface of the emerald, then gently returned it to its proper place, bowing slightly.

"Thank you. If you'll excuse me, I must go begin preparations for dinner."

Kisuke and Yoruichi exchanged a look as he left the room, both knowing he had at least an hour before he needed to begin working on their evening meal.

"Kisuke?" Yoruichi prompted as she took a step in the direction of the stairs, then stopped to wait for him. The curious cat inside her was itching to find out what was up with Tessai, but she wasn't about to leave him there alone with Daria. Even with the three mod souls present, it was hard to say what might happen in her absence.

"Are you alright now?" Kisuke asked Daria, placing a comforting hand on her upper arm as he moved to stand next to her, pushing his hat up a fraction of an inch with his other hand. Daria turned her head and looked up into his shaded grey eyes, nodding as she smiled a bit once more.

"Yeah, I'm fine," she assured him. "I'll get used to these three."

"So, um... _Can_ we stop hiding?" Kuroudo asked hopefully once more, never having received a proper response the last time he asked the question.

"Sure," Kisuke answered, prompting the two more exuberant plushies to cheer. "I see no reason for you to not be about the house as you were before. Just don't give Daria here a hard time, okay? She's our guest."

"You got it," the three of them called in unison as Kisuke turned and left the room, following Yoruichi downstairs.

They found Tessai sitting in the back room of the store once more, arms crossed over his broad chest and head bowed slightly with his eyes closed.

"That symbol," he stated before they could ask him what was wrong.

"What about it?" Kisuke asked, still standing just inside the doorway, his friend's words having stopped both him and Yoruichi in their tracks.

Tessai let out a deep sigh and raised his head, opening his eyes to look at the two of them.

"I know what it means."


	17. Chapter 17

Chapter Seventeen

Kisuke and Yoruichi sat quietly at the table in the back room of the shop, wordlessly watching Tessai and waiting for him to speak once more. He hadn't said anything since revealing his knowledge of the meaning of the symbol on Daria's necklace, but they knew he would tell them what it meant as soon as he got his thoughts into order.

"It's a kidou symbol," he finally said, keeping his voice low.

"I've never seen that symbol in any of the books at the academy or in the library," Kisuke replied, unable to recall having seen it in his years of study on the subject.

"That's because it's not _in_ any of the books," Tessai explained. "It is a high-level spell unknown to everyone but the captain of the Kidou Corps."

"So it's another forbidden technique?" Yoruichi asked, recalling the ones he had used to help Kisuke attempt to fix the hollowfied captains and lieutenants – which ultimately led to his own arrest and conviction for crimes against the laws of Soul Society.

"Not exactly," Tessai answered. "It's just one that serves a specific purpose, which makes it irrelevant for use within Soul Society."

"And what is its purpose?" Kisuke wondered, pouring himself a cup of tea from the pot that was still sitting in the center of the table.

"First, I think it would be best if I explained something to you about the Kidou Corps," Tessai stated. "Something that only the Captain-Commander of the Gotei 13, the members of Central 46, the Shinigami King, and the captains of the unit have any knowledge of."

"Why am I not surprised to find out that there's some big secret surrounding the Kidou Corps?" Yoruichi remarked, smirking a bit. "And people say the _Onmitsukido_ are a shady lot."

"Do you know the origins of kidou?" Tessai asked them, not even reacting to her comment.

"I never really thought about it," Kisuke replied, rubbing his chin thoughtfully for a moment before taking a sip of his tea.

"There's a _reason_ it's called 'demon magic,' you know," Tessai stated meaningfully, causing the other man to blink in disbelief.

"Seriously?" he asked, immediately grasping what his friend was trying to say.

Tessai nodded.

"Wait a minute," Yoruichi requested, holding up both her hands in front of her. "You mean to tell me that kidou, the magic used by _shinigami_, has links to demons?"

"It was devised by them," Tessai responded. "We merely borrowed the techniques and adapted them for our own use. Actually, it would be more accurate to say that they were given to us by the King of the Underworld back when Soul Society was very young. In the beginning, you see, hollows were very simple creatures that could easily be taken out by brute force alone. But then they began to evolve, becoming smarter and faster and stronger and soon it wasn't enough to simply go after them with swords and fists. The delicate balance that the shinigami fought so hard to preserve was in danger of being destroyed. So the Shinigami King was approached by the King of the Underworld and given an offer of allowing his people to learn the ways of the black arts that demons had been using for centuries. The Shinigami King was wary, thinking there was a catch, but there was none. You see, the King of the Underworld had as much to lose as he did if the proper balance was not restored. For if the hollows managed to take over, it would be the end of everything. The world of the living, Soul Society, and the Underworld would all cease to exist."

"So the King of the Underworld taught the Shinigami King how to use the magic of demons and thus we have kidou?" Kisuke asked.

"Not the King of the Underworld himself, but one of his representatives: The High Magus of the Black Arts – the one demon whose skill in black magic far surpasses that of any other. It is this same representative who travels to Soul Society whenever a new captain is selected for the Kidou Corps in order to properly train him in the more advanced techniques."

"But how is any of that story possible?" Yoruichi asked, confused. "I thought that _no one_ could get out of the Underworld once they were there."

"Certain demons have the ability to travel across dimensional lines into different planes of existence," Tessai informed her. "All demons do, really, but most of them require being summoned by someone through some sort of ritual. Being able to do it on their own, without any form of summoning involved, is quite rare. It's pretty much just the King of the Underworld and the High Magus who possess the ability to do so."

"Then you're _not_ saying that Daria is a demon," Kisuke stated, his tone of voice making it sound a bit like a question. Tessai merely looked at him. "She wouldn't possess the ability to cross the barrier from the Underworld to here."

"The place I saw that symbol before was around the neck of the man who trained me," Tessai replied.

He had recognized it immediately, the moment he saw it etched into her necklace. He had spent three years training under the man, after all, and had seen that same symbol created from gold hanging around his neck every day.

"Just stop beating around the bush and tell us what the damn symbol means, Tessai," Yoruichi demanded, growing impatient.

"It's a symbol for an extremely high-level binding spell," Tessai informed them. "The High Magus wore it in order to suppress the full concentration of his reiatsu so that it wouldn't smother the shinigami he came into contact with while in Soul Society for the duration of my training to become captain of the Kidou Corps."

"Reiatsu strong enough to smother shinigami," Yoruichi repeated thoughtfully.

"Sound familiar?" Kisuke asked, recalling the description Renji had given of what he'd felt in the room with Daria when she was still unconscious, as well as in the presence of those dark creatures.

"I _told_ you she was dangerous," Yoruichi said again, causing Kisuke to sigh as he returned his attention to Tessai.

"_Is_ she dangerous?" he asked, wanting his opinion. Of the three of them, Tessai was the only one who appeared to have the slightest idea as to what was going on.

"I cannot rightfully say," Tessai answered, shaking his head slightly. "For one thing, I do not know for certain what it is that's being suppressed by the symbol on her necklace. Perhaps it is those latent shinigami powers that you were speaking of before. All I know is that _something_ is being bound inside her and that it _may_ be linked to the High Magus of the Underworld, as that is his symbol."

"What else do you remember about him?" Kisuke asked, curious about a theory he had.

"He was a kind man, certainly nothing like what you might expect a demon to be," Tessai stated. "He appeared entirely human, which I was told is another rarity. Most demons who try to take on a human form retain at least one of the physical traits of their demon forms. He was fair-skinned, average height, and he had black hair about shoulder-length which he kept pulled back into a short ponytail–"

"And midnight blue eyes?" Kisuke asked, interrupting him.

"Yes," Tessai replied, nodding. "Exactly. How did you know that?"

"I've seen his picture," Kisuke said as his theory was confirmed, crossing his arms over his chest and bowing his head slightly.

"Where?" Yoruichi asked, raising an eyebrow.

"In Daria's room," he answered, looking at her from within the shadows of his hat. "There's a picture of two people who I assume are her parents. The man in it fits Tessai's description, exactly."

Yoruichi opened her mouth to make a comment about Daria potentially being the daughter of some hot-shot demon from the Underworld when Renji came running into the room, eyes wide as he held his communicator out in front of him.

"Guys, I just received a call from Captain Ukitake," he announced, holding the phone up toward them and turning the volume to its highest setting.

"Yoruichi, Tessai, Kisuke... Are you all there?" the captain's voice came over the line, echoing slightly.

"We're here," Kisuke assured him. "What have you called to tell us?"

"I already informed Renji of the situation, but he requested I tell you our findings myself. Captain Kurotsuchi discovered that the encryptions on the document he was attempting to access were actually a form of code, themselves."

"Clever," Kisuke replied, chuckling a bit.

"Yes," Ukitake continued. "And once he was able to crack the code, we were able to discover the contents of the document."

"What did it say?" Yoruichi wondered expectantly.

"The only known entity to possess black spirit ribbons are demons."

"I _knew _it!" Yoruichi exclaimed, jumping to her feet and pacing a bit.

"You had better not say, 'I told you she was dangerous' again," Kisuke warned her, following her movements with his gaze.

"But they just confirmed it!" Yoruichi argued. "You _heard_ Ukitake, Kisuke: Daria is a demon."

"What?"

All four people in the room suddenly fell silent at the sound of the voice coming from the doorway, their eyes looking to find Daria standing just outside the room, her face contorted in a mixture of disbelief and anger.

"Daria," Kisuke whispered, eyes wide. He didn't know how much she had overheard of the conversation, but she had heard enough.

"You people are _crazy_," Daria spat before storming through the room.

"Daria, wait," he tried to reason with her as she paused to slip on her shoes and grab her jacket.

"No, Kisuke. I'm _done_ here," she told him angrily. "The secrecy, the lies, the... whatever insanity you all are up to here. I'm done with it."

None of them moved to stop her as she made her way out through the shop, leaving the door open behind her as she left. Yoruichi and Renji both looked a bit shocked, while Kisuke was more worried than surprised. Tessai turned his attention to his employer and the two of them had a silent exchange, then Kisuke stood from his seat with a sigh.

"Thank you for informing us of Captain Kurotsuchi's findings, Captain Ukitake," he told the man on the other end of the communicator Renji was still holding up. "Tessai, you call Ichigo and the others and have them come over here so that I can fill them all in on what's going on."

"Where are _you_ going?" Yoruichi asked as he began making his way toward the front door of shop.

"I'm going after Daria," he announced, putting on his sandals and grabbing his shikomizue which they all knew was the sealed form of Benihime.

"Why are you taking your zanpakutou?" Renji wondered.

"Because she's a demon and he needs to protect himself from whatever she's capable of," Yoruichi replied.

"Because hollows are likely to attack her in her current state," Kisuke corrected. "We still have _no_ reason to believe she's dangerous, Yoruichi-san, demon or not."

"Oh come on!" she argued, getting in his face as she began ticking off the list on her fingers. "The dark reiatsu, that binding symbol on her necklace, her relationship to the High Magus of the Underworld, the fact that we just confirmed she's a _demon_... and you're _still_ willing to turn a blind eye and wanting to _protect_ her? I say, let the hollows have her. That's one less thing we'll have to worry about."

"I happen to agree with Urahara-dono," Tessai stated, earning himself a glare from Yoruichi. "Daria has never given us reason to believe she's dangerous. Trust me, now that I know she's a demon I can say with certainty that if she _wanted_ to hurt us, she easily could have."

"But–"

"Go," Tessai ordered Kisuke, silencing her with the gruffness of his voice. "Find Daria and bring her back here so we can clear things up. I will deal with Yoruichi-dono."

Yoruichi swallowed a bit nervously at the look Tessai gave her. She may be the former head of the Onmitsukido, but he was quite frightening in his own right. She knew he could have her locked in a high-level binding spell in a manner of a split second, probably even before she could flash step out of there. Deciding not to tempt fate, she sighed and sat back down as she turned to Renji.

"Well, what are you waiting for?" she asked him, her tone harsh in her frustration. "Call Ichigo and the others and tell them to get over here right away."

Kisuke smiled, forcing himself not to laugh at her, and immediately flash-stepped out of the shop to where Daria was walking on the next street over, appearing directly in front of her.

"What the hell?" she asked, blinking in disbelief. He hadn't been there a second ago, and now he was standing before her with a cane slung over his right shoulder and a lazy smile gracing his lips.

"I thought you might like some company," he told her, ignoring her shock at his sudden appearance.

"Not from _you_," she replied in a clipped tone, moving around him and continuing on her way toward the main part of town and the apartment she had left behind.

"Please don't be angry, Daria," he requested, falling into step beside her.

"How can I _not_ be?" she asked, glancing at him briefly before looking ahead once more. "You were all talking about me behind my back, Kisuke. Not only that, but you were saying some pretty nasty things about me."

"_I_ never said anything detrimental to your character," he informed her. "As for Yoruichi-san, well... She's always been somewhat protective of those close to her, and I think she's been under more stress than usual, lately. You'll have to forgive her for that outburst."

"She called me a demon," Daria pointed out to him, "and I didn't hear you or Tessai or Renji jumping to my defense."

"Maybe because you didn't give any of us a chance to," he reminded her, causing her to stop in her tracks and look at him.

"What about what that man on the phone was saying?" she asked quietly. Kisuke sighed heavily. So she _had_ heard more than just Yoruichi's outburst.

"Don't you worry about that," he told her, stepping closer to her and reaching up with one had to brush some hair back from her face in a gesture meant to help calm her down. She flinched away from the touch, stepping back away from him.

"Just come back to the shop and we'll get all of this cleared up," he requested.

"No," Daria firmly replied, shaking her head. "I told you Kisuke: I'm done with that place and with you people. You're all a bunch of shady loons, spouting nonsense about dead people and monsters and demons."

"But you've seen _proof_ that hollows and spirits exist, Daria," he said, searching her eyes for some reason why she was suddenly denying everything she had learned in the last few weeks. She simply shook her head again and kept walking.

"It's not true," she told him. "It _can't_ be true."

Kisuke followed her, frowning. She was obviously in denial, which made him wonder if everything he hypothesized about her while talking to Tessai was not only true, but if perhaps she had known about it all along – or at least had an inkling. He doubted she really knew what she was, though, even now. She had a look of genuine fear in her eyes... the same type of fear he'd seen in young shinigami in Rukongai who hadn't yet learned what the powers they possessed really were.

The two of them continued to walk silently, finally reaching one of the busier streets in Karakura Town. Daria didn't tell him to quit following her, and Kisuke didn't try to stop her, figuring she just needed some time to cool off a bit before she would finally agree to come back to the shop with him. They were about to cross at an intersection when she suddenly halted mid-stride and grabbed his arm. Kisuke looked at where she was holding onto him, alarmed by the strength of her grip, then looked at her face and found she had gone paler than usual, her entire face frozen in a mask of pure terror.

"Daria, what is it?" he asked, concerned. "What's wrong?"

"It's him," she said quietly, her voice trembling slightly as she continued staring straight ahead of them. Kisuke turned his head and looked across the street, his eyes falling upon a man with shoulder-length red hair and a goatee who was staring back in their direction as he casually leaned against a building.

"Are you sure?" he asked, remembering what she had said about her mother's killer being a man with red hair.

"Positive," Daria replied, and he could tell by the way her voice broke that she was on the verge of tears.

"Listen to me," he told her, grabbing her by the shoulders and turning her toward him, forcing her to look at him. "Go back to the shop. You'll be safe there. I'll take care of this."

"But I–"

"Go," Kisuke repeated before she could argue with him. "I promise, no one's going to hurt you. I won't let them."

Daria hesitated, shaking her head as she she continued gripping his arm tightly, reaching up to grasp his other arm, as well. She believed him. He sounded sincere, and she could see it in his eyes that he meant every word he said. But that man had killed her mother and spent the last ten years tracking her and tormenting her. He seemed to be in control of those dark creatures that kept attacking her, and she knew from what happened with Renji before that he wasn't above using them to get rid of anyone who stood in his way. Kisuke had assured her that he was able to defend the shop if someone managed to breach the protective barriers around it, but she had yet to actually see him in action and therefore really didn't know if he actually stood a chance against them or not, and a part of her couldn't stand the idea of him going after that man and never coming back.

"Just go," he told her in a calm voice, once more reaching up to brush her hair from her face. This time she didn't flinch or try to pull away, and he noticed that the small gesture caused a few of the tears she had been holding back to spill over and roll down her cheeks as she swallowed nervously.

"Be careful," she whispered before turning and quickly making her way off in the direction they had come from. Kisuke watched her until she disappeared around the corner of a building, then turned back in the direction of the man who had been stalking her for the past decade, glaring coldly at him.

The man pushed off the wall of the building he had been leaning against, looking a bit frightened, and quickly ducked into a nearby alley. Kisuke took a few steps back into the alley he and Daria had just emerged from, making sure he was out of sight of the numerous pedestrians walking on the main street, then flash-stepped across the road and down the alley the other man had run down, appearing several feet ahead of him. The man stopped walking when he appeared before him, gasping in surprise and turning to run the other way, but Kisuke was quicker. He grabbed the red-haired man by the back of his collar and threw him up against the nearest wall, smiling cruelly when he let out a yelp of pain as his back came into contact with the hard stone. Kisuke discarded the sheath of his zanpakutou and pressed the blade firmly against his neck before he could regain his composure and try to take off again, wordlessly releasing Behinime into her shikai form.

"I will give you _one_ chance to answer this question to my satisfaction," he told the man, the tone of his voice quiet and deadly.

"Please, I can explain," the man begged, holding up his hands in a gesture of surrender. Kisuke noticed that there were a series of cuts across his left palm, some old and scarred over while others were fairly recent and still a bit red and angry-looking.

"Why are you stalking Daria?" Kisuke asked him, choosing to ignore the cuts for the time being in favor of pressing the blade a bit further against his throat to accentuate the fact that he was dead serious about killing him if he wasn't given a proper answer.

"I'm trying to protect her," the man replied, swallowing as best he could around the edge of the sword that was threatening to cut into his neck.

"Bullshit," Kisuke responded. "You _killed her mother_. And for the past ten years, you have been following her from place to place, sending those damn creatures after her."

"No," the man argued, shaking his head and wincing as the blade cut slightly into his skin. "You've got it all wrong, I swear. I was sent to protect them, but I was too late that day. Her mother was already dead, and she ran away before I could stop her and explain what had happened."

"Unlikely story," Kisuke countered. The man just shook his head again and began reaching for the collar of his shirt.

"I can prove it," he insisted, moving his hand slowly so that his attacker wouldn't misread his movements as him reaching for some sort of weapon.

Kisuke watched him silently, eyes narrowed in concentration. If he made any sudden movements or drew any sort of weapon, he was fully prepared to slice Benihime's blade across his throat and leave him in that alleyway to die. He knew he should probably exert some control over his actions, though. After all, Daria deserved answers about why her mother had been murdered and she wouldn't be able to get any if he killed the man responsible for her death.

"Do you recognize this?" the man asked as he pulled back his shirt collar. Kisuke's eyes went wide when he saw the exact same symbol from Daria's necklace burned into his flesh just below his collar bone.

"Who the hell are you?" he asked, easing up slightly on his sword.

"My name is Mullin," the man replied. "Apprentice of the High Magus of the Underworld, and the one tasked with ensuring the safety of his wife and daughter. Please... If you let me go, I will explain everything."

Kisuke considered his words for a moment, then slowly lowered his sword to his side, keeping his eyes trained on his every move. He didn't think the man was lying about who he was, but one could never be too careful when meeting someone for the first time.

"Bakudou number four," Kisuke recited, holding a hand up in front of him, "Hainawa." Mullin gave him a small smile as he used the spell to bind him in a rope of spiritual energy.

"Don't even think about trying to break out of this," Kisuke warned him, pointing his sword at his throat. "I'll kill you before you can finish removing it."

"Not like I _could_ break it, even if I wanted to," Mullin informed him, sounding a bit depressed. "I currently have no powers."

"Why is that?" Kisuke asked, curious.

"Take me to Daria," Mullin requested. "Allow me to explain everything to you there so that I might clear up whatever misunderstanding she has about my motives."

"Fine," Kisuke agreed, albeit a bit reluctantly. He wasn't entirely sure of how trustworthy this other man was, and he was especially wary about letting him within his home, but he still believed Daria deserved answers and he appeared to be telling the truth no matter how far-fetched his story seemed.

Once again praying that he could trust his instincts in the given situation, he grabbed the other man's arm and flash-stepped back to the shop with the hope that maybe now they could _all_ finally get some answers to their questions.


	18. Chapter 18

Chapter Eighteen

Daria stood outside the Urahara Shop, hesitating. Kisuke had told her to go back, that she would be safe there, but she was still nervous about going back inside. Yoruichi was in there, after all, and the woman hadn't exactly sounded like she wanted her there. Daria had known that of all the residents of the house, the other woman was her least biggest fan, but she had heard an even more caustic tone of voice than normal coming from her the last time she'd been in that house. That was why she was so wary about going back inside: She didn't want to have to deal with the stress of facing her on top of everything else that was going on at that moment.

"Hey, Daria!" called a cheerful voice behind her. Daria turned around to find Orihime and Ichigo walking toward her, hand-in-hand, the young woman smiling and waving in greeting while her companion looked embarrassed to have been caught together with her.

"Hello, Orihime," Daria greeted in return, "Ichigo."

"You remembered my name!" Orihime said, beaming.

"Of course," Daria replied, nodding. "So, when did you two get together?" she added, gesturing toward their hands.

"Huh?" Orihime said, looking confused, then glanced down and blushed as she slowly released her grip on Ichigo's hand. "Oh... We're not dating or anything. I guess I was just so excited when I ran into Ichigo that I grabbed his hand."

"I see," Daria remarked, unable to keep a small smile from creeping across her lips at the way Ichigo was acting unusually quiet. She'd seen the boy a few times at the Urahara Shop since the day she first met him, and each time he'd been loud and talkative – a lot like Renji, now that she thought about it.

"Urahara said he had some sort of big news to tell everyone," he finally managed to say, scratching the back of his head with the hand Orihime had just been holding onto. "Any idea what's going on?"

_They seem to think I'm some sort of demon?_ Daria thought, doing her best to smile in spite of the current situation.

"I think he'd better tell you, himself," she told them, fidgeting a bit. "I'm not really sure what's going on."

It wasn't an out-and-out lie, but she didn't exactly feel comfortable telling them what was going on when she wasn't entirely sure herself what that conversation she'd stumbled upon had been all about.

"Are you okay?" Ichigo asked, his eyes narrowed slightly as he observed her seemingly nervous behavior.

"I'm fine," she lied again, forcing another smile. "Why don't we head inside? I'm sure Tessai's made some tea for everyone."

Orihime nodded in agreement and Daria made her way inside as they both followed. She wasn't at all surprised to find that she'd been right about Tessai waiting for them with a fresh pot of tea. He was a good host, after all, always doing his utmost to take care of whoever happened to stop by for a visit. Renji was also sitting at the table, and to her surprise Rukia was already there, seated at his side. Yoruichi had taken off, though, but her cat was curled up on the pillow Kisuke had been sitting on before. Her absence caused Daria to relax a bit, since it looked like she wouldn't have to deal with a confrontation with the other woman, after all.

"Here, Miss Daria," Tessai said as he stood and brought a steaming cup of tea over to her. "Drink this. It will help you relax."

"Is it drugged or something?" Daria asked warily as she took the cup from him.

"Not at all," he assured her. "It's a special herbal blend that the boss and I came up with."

Daria quietly thanked him and took a seat at the table on the other side of Renji, who scooted closer to Rukia as she sat down. Ichigo sat on the opposite side of her, and she wondered if he had done so in order to make it easier for them to restrain her, then she remembered that he didn't know _why _Kisuke had called him to the shop.

"The others should be arriving shortly," Tessai announced as he remained standing. "Can I get either of you anything to eat?"

"Ooh!" Orihime exclaimed, waving her hand about in the air like a student eager to answer a question in class. "Do you have any more of those jam buns?"

"I believe so, yes," Tessai replied with a nod.

"I'll have some of those, then," she told him. "With ketchup."

Ichigo cringed and Rukia made a slight choking noise as Orihime placed her order. Tessai asked if anyone else wanted anything, but they all passed, slightly repulsed by the young woman's odd sense of taste. He nodded once more before disappearing to the kitchen to retrieve the treats, and both Uryuu and Chad arrived during his absence. The bespectacled boy voiced his own confusion over why they had all been asked to gather there when Ichigo asked if they knew what was going on, while his companion merely grunted as they both sat down at the table.

Tessai returned shortly, carrying a tray full of pastries with a bottle of ketchup balancing on the corner, and had just taken his own seat once more when they heard the front door of the shop open again. Ichigo turned his head to see who it was, though he knew it had to be Urahara since everyone else was already present. To his surprise, the shopkeeper wasn't alone.

"Don't try anything," he warned as he pushed a red-headed man ahead of him and closed the shop door behind them. The man was bound by some sort of kidou spell, and nearly lost his balance as he was forcefully led through the shop toward the back room.

Daria stiffened when the two of them entered the room, and Ichigo turned to find her staring at the man with a mixture of shock and fear in her eyes. He was about to ask her what was wrong when she suddenly jumped up from her seat and backed away from the two men who had just entered, stopping only because she ended up with her back against the far wall of the room.

"What is _he_ doing here?" she asked, her eyes still locked on the stranger.

"He said if I brought him here to you, he'd explain everything," Kisuke replied, keeping a firm grip on the other man's arm.

"What's there to explain?" she wondered, her voice rising in anger. "He killed my mother, Kisuke!"

"No, Daria," Mullin argued, shaking his head. "I-"

"How the hell do you know my name?" she asked, cutting him off.

"I knew your father," he told her. "Please, just allow me to explain."

He took a step toward her and found the edge of Kisuke's sword pressed firmly against his throat. Swallowing nervously, he stepped back and looked down at the floor with a sigh, his eyes falling closed.

"Get him out of here," Daria demanded. "I don't want to hear a damn word he has to say."

She turned on her heel and began making her way out of the room, and Mullin began speaking to her in Russian. Kisuke didn't know what he was saying to her, but she had stopped dead in her tracks after the first few words left his mouth. He listened closely to what was being said, trying to figure out from his tone if it was a threat or not, and he suddenly recognized what the man was saying to her. His still didn't understand what it meant, but he had heard Daria singing those very same words to herself on numerous occasions since she first came to live at his shop.

Daria turned back to them once Mullin had stopped speaking, her eyes full of tears, and Kisuke had to stop himself from going to her and asking what was wrong. Instead, he tightened his grip on Mullin's arm even more, pressing Benihime's blade against his throat once again. Whatever he'd said had upset Daria greatly, and if she ordered him to kill the man because of it he probably wouldn't hesitate to do so. The girl had been through more than enough pain in her life and didn't deserve some twisted psycho taunting her to the point of tears.

"How do you know that poem?" she asked him quietly.

"Your father was never very good at putting his feelings into words," Mullin replied, ignoring the pain being caused by the renewed grip his captor had on him. "I helped him write that poem for your mother."

"And why should I believe that? How do I know you're not lying?"

Mullin looked around the room at those present, his eyes lighting up with recognition as he noticed Tessai seated at the table.

"Tessai," he said, nodding toward the large man as he returned his attention to Daria. "Tessai can vouch for me."

"You know him?" Kisuke asked his longtime friend, who looked confused at the man's insistence that he could provide a good word for him.

"I've never seen him before in my life," Tessai stated.

"We've never met," Mullin told him, shaking his head a bit. "But Leonard told me all about you. He said you were the most talented expert at the demon arts he'd seen in nearly three thousand years."

"Leonard..." Daria repeated the name quietly, her eyes going wide.

"What relationship do you have with Leonard?" Tessai asked, narrowing his eyes slightly at the smaller man.

"I was his apprentice."

Tessai sat for a moment, thinking, then regarded the man carefully once more.

"Mullin?"

"Yes," Mullin said, smiling gratefully. "You do remember."

"He mentioned you a few times," Tessai said, nodding. "But I was under the impression that you were unable to cross the dimensional lines. That was why you didn't accompany him for my training."

"He stripped me of my powers," Mullin explained, turning his attention back to Daria. "He gave me a human form so that I could watch over you and your mother. He wanted me to keep both of you safe, but I failed. I didn't see the signs until it was too late, and by the time I got there... She was already gone, Daria. I couldn't save her. I'm so sorry."

"What the hell are you talking about?" Daria asked in a shaky voice, wrapping her arms around herself and backing away from him toward the hallway. "Turned you human? Crossing dimensional lines? My father..."

"Your father was Leonard, High Magus of the Black Arts and Third Demon Lord of the Underworld," Mullin told her. Daria shook her head, denying the information.

"My father was Leonard Novikov, a good man. He did _not_ practice black magic and he most certainly was _not_ a... a demon."

"If I may," Uryuu interrupted, raising a hand to draw their attention to him. "I must say that I believe him."

"What?" Daria asked, looking at him in disbelief. "You're actually buying this garbage?"

"I do not know if you are aware of this," Uryuu continued, undeterred by her anger, "but each living being possesses what is known as a spirit ribbon. In essence, it is that being's spiritual energy compressed into a thread tying it to the universe. They're colored differently depending upon the species of the being: Humans are white, shinigami are red. _Yours_, however, is black. As is this man's."

"Are you saying they're both demons?" Ichigo asked, trying to follow everything that had been said thus far.

"If that's what a black spirit ribbon means, then yes," Uryuu answered.

"And according to the information we received from Captain Ukitake, that is exactly what it means," Tessai commented.

Kisuke watched Daria closely, concerned about how she was taking all of this. She merely stood just inside the doorway of the room, staring blankly at the floor before her as if in shock.

"Daria?" he called her name and she looked up at him. He could see in her eyes just how lost and confused she was feeling at that moment, the way she was desperately trying to deny what they were saying to herself while a part of her seemed to know it was all true.

"Your necklace, Daria," Mullin said, struggling against his bounds to reach up and pull aside his shirt and show her the symbol burned into his skin. "We wear the same mark. Your father's mark."

Daria reached up with one hand and pulled her necklace from inside her shirt, holding the large emerald that hung from the chain in the palm of her hand and staring at the symbol etched into it.

"Doesn't it seem strange that you've been wearing that since you were a baby, yet it has always fit you perfectly?" Mullin asked her. "Or that you've never been able to bring yourself to take it off, not even for a moment?

"It's not _just _a necklace, Daria," he told her. "It's a spell. Your father placed it upon you in order to protect you from his enemies."

"Enough," Daria said quietly, closing her hand into a fist around the medallion. "I've heard enough."

She turned and walked out of the room, heading upstairs, and Kisuke stepped away from Mullin to follow her, pausing in the doorway and turning to the others.

"You can release him from the binding spell, but keep an eye on him," he instructed them. "I'm still not entirely sure we can trust him, yet."

"Yes, boss," Tessai replied, standing from his seat and going over to undo the kidou that was binding Mullin.

Kisuke went upstairs and to Daria's room, finding the door open. He stepped inside, resting Benihime against the wall just inside the door, and crossed the room to where she was kneeling before the small altar she had set up for her parents.

"I knew," she said quietly as he knelt next to her.

"You did?" he asked her just as quietly, surprised.

Daria nodded. "I didn't know what, exactly, but I knew there was something... different. About me, about my father."

Kisuke didn't say anything. He merely reached out and stroked her hair in the same comforting manner he had that night in his room after she'd had that nightmare about her mother's murder. Daria leaned into his touch, sighing a bit as she closed her eyes.

"When I was eight years old," she continued speaking, her eyes still closed, "I heard my mother and my grandmother talking late one night. My grandmother was saying something about how I should be told the truth, and my mother was arguing with her, saying that I wasn't old enough to understand and that it might scare me. Nana Katja told her I had a right to know who my father really was, what he was and what I was, but my mother insisted that it wasn't the right time."

She sighed again, a bit more heavily, and turned to look at him, her eyes still full of unshed tears.

"I didn't ask what they had been talking about, because I didn't want to get in trouble for being up past my bedtime and eavesdropping. Honestly, I'd forgotten about that night entirely until just now. Kisuke... What am I? Am I really a demon?"

Kisuke sighed and wrapped his hand gently around the back of her head, pulling her forward until their foreheads were touching. Closing his eyes, he concentrated on her reiatsu. He could feel that darkness deep within her, churning around, but his gut still told him she wasn't dangerous in spite of it.

"I don't know, Daria," he said quietly after a moment, his eyes still closed as he shook his head a bit. "But don't worry about it, okay? We'll figure it out. And as long as you're here, I promise I won't let anything happen to you."

Daria nodded and let her head fall down onto his shoulder, her arms wrapping around him and holding onto him almost desperately as she struggled with her newfound identity. Kisuke held her close, allowing her whatever comfort he could give in this situation, and pressed a gentle kiss to her temple. She raised her head slightly to look at him after he kissed her, and it was all he could do to prevent himself from giving her a proper kiss. She was already going through enough emotional and mental turmoil without him adding to it by further complicating their relationship.

"Are you going to be alright?" he asked her, brushing a stray lock of hair back from her face.

"I think so," Daria said, nodding as she sat back up, putting some distance between them once more. "I'd like to stay up here for a bit, though, if you don't mind. Sort through some things."

Kisuke nodded in understanding. He knew very well how she felt. He'd spent countless hours alone just thinking about his situation on numerous occasions, even back when he was still living in Soul Society. Sometimes people just needed that time alone to sort through their thoughts and feelings. A part of him wanted to bring her back down so she could hear what else Mullin might have to say, but he respected her need for solitude at the moment, and so he reluctantly released her from his embrace and stood from his seat on the floor, pulling his hat down firmly on top of his head.

"Take as much time as you need," he told her. "I'll keep Mullin here so you can talk to him once you're ready. I'm sure you'll have questions for him."

Daria nodded slightly, turning back to the altar before her. "Thank you."

Kisuke watched her silently for a moment before leaving the room, grabbing Benihime on his way out and closing the door behind him so she could have some privacy. With a sigh, he returned downstairs and found the others sitting quietly around the table, regarding their new guest with varying degrees of apprehension.

"Is Daria alright?" Orihime asked as he took a seat with them at the table, as concerned for the well-being of others as she always was.

"She'll be fine," Kisuke assured them. "She just needs a little time for this all to sink in."

"So... Daria's a demon?" Ichigo asked a bit awkwardly.

"Half-demon," Mullin corrected. "Her mother was human."

"But she looks so normal," Rukia remarked. "You'd think she'd have horns or something."

"You wouldn't have known her father was a demon, either, just by looking at him," Tessai told her.

"Yeah, I've seen his picture and he looked like any normal guy," Ichigo said, recalling the picture of her parents he'd seen in her apartment.

"That was one of Leonard's gifts," Mullin said, smiling almost proudly. "He was able to completely take a human form. It's a testament to his skills with the black arts that he could do so."

"So he didn't normally look like that?" Ichigo asked.

"No," Mullin replied, shaking his head. "In the Underworld, a demon will always be in demon form. The energies there prevent us from taking on any sort of human characteristics."

"Not to seem rude or anything," Uryuu stated, adjusting his glasses slightly, "but why should we even trust you? Especially if you're a demon."

Mullin let out a light chuckle. "I assume you're thinking that demons are all about evil and destruction, yes?"

"Well, that seems to be the general theme where they're concerned, yes," Uryuu replied.

"That is one of the biggest misconceptions ever," Mullin corrected him. "Demons are no more evil than humans. Granted, there are those who walk a less virtuous path... But you have that with pretty much any sort of living being – humans and shinigami, as well. I blame the religious zealots of the world for distorting our image so badly."

"But if you're not evil, then how come I could feel so much darkness coming from Daria?" Renji asked. "It felt like I was being drowned in it."

"We may not be evil by nature, but there is still darkness in us," Mullin told him. "We hail from the Underworld, after all. It's not a very pleasant place."

"So if you're not evil, and you don't believe in death and destruction of all, then what _do_ you believe in?" Ichigo wondered.

"I'm sure you all know of shinigami, yes?" Mullin asked, waiting for them to all nod. "Well, the shinigami were once known as the balancers of the universe."

"Right," Rukia said. "They make sure there's a constant balance between the number of souls in Soul Society and the world of the living."

"Precisely," Mullin said with a nod. "In the same vein, demons have their own job to perform in the scheme of the universe. We're known as the punishers. It is our job to punish those who commit unforgivable acts during their time in the world of the living. Often times, we subject them to the same acts that landed them with us, in the first place. For instance, a murderer might be killed over and over again while a rapist would be violated in the same ways as his victims. It's not exactly a pleasant job, but someone has to do it."

"Might I ask a question of you, Mullin?" Kisuke requested. The other man turned to him, silently waiting for him to continue. "I noticed you referred to Daria's father as the Third Demon Lord. What does that mean, exactly?"

"Just what it sounds like," Mullin answered. "There's a certain hierarchy of power in the Underworld. The King sits at the top, of course, followed by his ten Demon Lords."

"Great, another group of ten," Ichigo grumbled, recalling how there had also been ten Espada in Aizen's forces.

"Are they ranked by power?" Rukia asked, ignoring Ichigo's outburst.

"Not exactly," Mullin told her, shaking his head. "There _is_ a differentiation of power between the ranks, but... Well, for example: The First Demon Lord is actually weaker than the Second Demon Lord. The Second is the strongest of the ten and commands the forces the the King's armies, while the First is essentially the King's right hand and most loyal supporter. The Third has always been the High Magus, while the Tenth is the Grand Seer."

"So each of them has a specific job?" Orihime asked, curious.

"No, actually. Just those four. The others take whatever jobs the King gives them. Mostly, they're the ones who oversee the punishment of the unjust souls who come our way. And it's hard to tell where they rank amongst each other, according to strength. They're pretty much on par with one another, in that respect, but they each have unique abilities which could give them an advantage in certain situations."

"Just one more question," Kisuke said, holding up a finger. "What, exactly, were you sent to protect Daria and her mother from?"

Mullin sighed heavily, closing his eyes as his shoulders slumped in a defeated manner.

"There was a revolt shortly after Daria was born," he said after a moment, his voice quiet and full of regret. "Several of the Demon Lords decided to band together with the intent of taking on the King and showing him they had more power than him by doing the one thing he refused to do."

"And what might that be?" Kisuke asked.

"You're not saying..." Tessai stated, his eyes beginning to go wide.

"I'm afraid so," Mullin replied, looking across the table at the large man.

"What?" Kisuke wondered, looking between the two of them. "Tessai?"

"They're going to attempt to rule the world of the living," Tessai said grimly.

"I thought you said demons weren't evil?" Ichigo asked.

"Now, now, Ichigo," Kisuke tried to calm the young man. "Just like Mullin said, there's always a few bad apples in every bunch."

"Like Aizen in Soul Society," Renji pointed out. "So how many Demon Lords we talking about in this revolt?"

"Seven," Mullin replied.

"_Seven_?" Ichigo exclaimed loudly. "That's almost _all_ of them!"

"I am aware of that," Mullin said with a weary sigh. "Honestly, I can't believe Alocer was able to convince them all to do it. Especially the Grand Seer. He's always been a pacifist."

"Who's Alocer?" Chad asked, saying his first words since arriving at the shop.

"The Second Demon Lord," Mullin told him.

"Wait, so... Let me see if I got this straight," Ichigo said, sounding angry. "There's a revolt going on in the Underworld, with nearly all of the Demon Lords involved in trying to take over mankind, and it's being led by the one who's in charge of all the armies of hell?"

"Not quite," Mullin said, seeming a bit reluctant to correct him.

"Where am I wrong?" the substitute shinigami asked in a demanding voice.

"They're not in the Underworld any more," Mullin admitted. "They're here, in the world of the living."

"What the-" Ichigo stuttered in shock.

"How?" Renji asked, just as surprised.

"I thought it wasn't possible," Orihime said, confused.

"Are they all human now, too?" Rukia asked, recalling that Mullin himself shouldn't have been able to cross the dimensional line, either.

"It's a complicated manner," Mullin told them, holding up his hands to silence them all as they began speaking at once. "One that links directly to Daria and the death of her father. I would rather not discuss it without her here."

"Think she's up to hearing about all this, Urahara?" Ichigo asked the shopkeeper. He had noticed how shaken up Daria was before, and realized she probably needed some time to come to terms with everything she had just learned, but he was anxious to find out exactly what was going on and how bad things were going to get.

"I don't know," Kisuke replied, shaking his head. "She's probably asleep right now, judging by the way the level of her reiatsu has gone down as we've been talking here. I'd hate to wake her, after all she's been through today, but... She deserves to know the truth, about everything."

He sat quietly for a moment as he contemplated whether it was worth upsetting her any further or if they should wait until the morning before bombarding her with all this additional information about her lineage. Deciding that maybe it would be best to get things out of the way, he tuned toward the doorway of the back room and called for Ururu.

"Yes, Mr. Kisuke?" Ururu asked, stepping into the doorway the instant she'd been called, Jinta at her side.

"I take it you two heard everything we've been talking about?" he asked. The small girl blushed and the boy looked a bit sheepish, both of them embarrassed that he'd caught them snooping. "Not to worry, I'm not angry. I was hoping you could go and check on Daria for me. Ask her if she's feeling up to hearing about her father. If she's too tired, let her sleep, though."

He had decided it would be best if Daria got to make the decision herself whether or not they continued the conversation. It was _her_ life and _her_ family they were discussing, after all.

"Right away," Ururu replied, bowing slightly before heading upstairs to check on Daria. A minute later she called frantically for someone to come upstairs.

Kisuke leapt to his feet and bolted out of the room, his heart hammering in his chest as he became filled with a sudden sense of dread. There was another reason her reiatsu could have been dropping off the way it had been, but he hadn't thought she was in a fragile enough state to do something as drastic as taking her own life. When he reached the hallway outside Daria's room, he found Ururu standing by the bed in the center of the floor, pointing to the open window.

Daria had left.


	19. Chapter 19

Chapter Nineteen

Kisuke stood at the open window in Daria's room, leaning against the sill as he looked outside. Apparently, she had climbed out onto the roof of his workshop and lowered herself from there to the ground below. That was how she'd managed to leave without any of them noticing. After all, the only way out of the house was through the front door, which was only accessible by going past the sitting room where he and the others had all been talking. He couldn't help but smile a bit at how cleverly she'd escaped.

"How did she manage to leave without anyone noticing her reiatsu was gone?" Ichigo asked from just inside the doorway of the bedroom. The others had all quickly followed in Kisuke's wake after Ururu's frantic call for help, and they were now all crammed together into the small bedroom, looking rather dumbfounded.

"A person's reiatsu will naturally drop in intensity when they fall asleep or pass out," Uryuu reminded him.

"That's why I thought Renji was dead after he fought onii-sama," Rukia remarked, the memory still causing her great distress even though everything had turned out okay. Renji, sensing her sadness, grabbed her hand and gave it a comforting squeeze, threading his fingers through hers. She looked up at him and smiled, a light blush coloring her cheeks as he smiled back at her.

"That still doesn't make any sense," Ichigo argued. "Couldn't _you_ tell she was getting farther away, Uryuu? You're the one who's always bragging about how well you can feel reiatsu and tell people apart by it and stuff."

"Yes, but I normally only deal with humans and shinigami," Uryuu replied, stroking his chin slightly as he closed his eyes in concentration. "I'm not at all versed in differentiating a demon's reiatsu. Right now, all I can sense is Mullin's, here."

"Then how about you, Mullin?" Ichigo asked, impatient. "You can track her down, right?"

Mullin sighed, leaning back against the wall next to the window and crossing his arms over his chest.

"If it was that easy for me, it wouldn't have taken me years to track her down each time she took off," he admitted.

"What about those creatures you control?" Yoruichi wondered as she joined them. She had transformed back to her normal state and ducked into Kisuke's room to change as they all began discussing Daria's disappearance.

"Imps aren't intelligent enough to track people on their own." Mullin explained. "They can only follow their master's orders. The master needs to at least have _some_ idea of where his target is, or else they just wander aimlessly in search of whoever they've been sent after."

"So you've known where Daria was all this time?" Kisuke asked, giving the other man a sideways glance.

"Not exactly," Mullin replied. "I had tracked her to this particular town, but had no idea of her actual whereabouts until approximately a month ago."

"You've known she was _here_ this whole time?" Yoruichi asked, surprised.

"I've known for a while she was staying at this shop," Mullin admitted. "I was able to have one of my imps follow her trail here once I finally caught sight of her and which direction she was heading."

"Was that after the first or second time she was attacked by a hollow?" Kisuke wondered aloud.

"Probably the second," Mullin answered after thinking for a moment, gesturing toward Renji, Ichigo, and Rukia as he continued speaking. "I know she was with those three shinigami."

"If you knew she was here, then why haven't we seen you around before?" Renji asked him.

"Daria believed I killed her mother," Mullin reminded him. "When she discovered my presence before where she was living, she ran. So I kept to the shadows and watched over her from afar. I didn't want to send her running, again."

"And how did you know she'd be safe here?" Yoruichi wondered, crossing her arms over her chest as she leaned back against the wall.

"I sensed the barriers around this building," he explained, nodding toward Tessai. "I knew that they had to be the work of a shinigami who was particularly skilled in kidou. With that being the case, I felt secure in the knowledge that she was being well-protected from the hollows."

"There's something I don't understand," Ichigo said, shaking his head a bit in confusion.

"You mean something _else_ you don't understand," Rukia commented in a teasing tone, earning herself a glare from the orange-haired teenager.

"Daria had never seen a hollow before the night Rukia and I found her," Ichigo continued. "But after that night, whenever she went out of the shop she got attacked."

"She didn't get attacked when the two of you went to her apartment to get her things," Kisuke reminded him.

"Okay, _almost_ every time she left the shop she got attacked," he corrected himself.

"I don't know what caused her initial attack," Mullin replied, "but I imagine the hollow that attacked her sensed something about her reiatsu that drew it to her. Though what that something is, I can't really say. Generally, they steer clear of demons. Leonard once told me he came across one and it fled in the opposite direction."

"Her shinigami powers," Yoruichi suggested.

"What?" Ichigo said, giving her a perplexed look.

"Daria's reiatsu showed similarities to that of a shinigami," Kisuke informed him, as well as the others who hadn't been present when he revealed the findings he'd heard about from Ukitake. "The theory is that she has some sort of latent shinigami powers. Theoretically, that could be what drew the first hollow to her, but I'm not entirely sure it's responsible for her subsequent attacks."

He continued watching Mullin out of the corner of his eye as he spoke, noticing that he didn't even so much as blink at the revelation that his charge might possibly have shinigami powers. It struck him as particularly odd because everyone else in the room – save for Tessai and Yoruichi, who had already heard of the theory – had been surprised by the news.

"She was angry when she left the shop before her second attack," Kisuke continued, turning away from the window to face the others. "As I'm sure you all know, any sort of heightened emotional state can serve to draw a hollow to a person, be they human or shinigami. As for her third attack... The hollow might have been after her all along, or it possibly could have been seeking out Renji and happened upon her, instead."

"Wait," Renji said, holding up one hand to halt his speaking. "You mean to tell me that _I_ was actually the bait in that little scheme of yours to get that sample?"

"Well, I couldn't really be completely sure that a hollow _would_ attack Daria, since we didn't know what was drawing them to her, so yes... I suppose I did willingly have you follow her in the hopes that a hollow would sense you and attack you both and cause one of those creatures to show up. Actually, I had a vague notion that they weren't really trying to attack Daria, at all."

"What made you think that?" Orihime asked quietly.

"The nightmare Daria had," Kisuke explained. "She told me about her mother's murder, and she said that when she found the body there was one of those things there. But she didn't say it was doing anything to the body. If the creature was truly responsible in part for her mother's death, it likely would have been feasting on her flesh. Also, she told me she saw one before, when she had been living in London, but it hadn't attacked her at all."

"But when we went after Daria when she left the shop that day, one of them went right for her," Rukia said, sounding like she wasn't buying Kisuke's theory. "It literally jumped over me trying to get to her."

"It wasn't trying to get _to_ her," Mullin explained. "It was trying to put itself between you and Daria in order to protect her."

"Protect her from us, you mean?" Renji asked.

"Yes."

"Why the hell would it do that?" Ichigo asked a bit angrily. "We were _helping_ her."

"Like I said before," Mullin stated with a sigh. "Imps are stupid creatures. I gave them the order to protect Daria, and when that one saw you near her with a weapon it thought she was in danger. So it tried to keep her safe from that perceived threat."

"Let's not argue about this," Uryuu suggested. "It's in the past. We have a more pressing issue here, at the moment. Daria is out there somewhere, and for all we know a hollow could attack her at any given moment."

"She should be fine," Kisuke assured him. "There's been a distinct lull in hollow activity in the area the past few days."

Mullin shifted uncomfortably on his feet at his announcement, causing Kisuke to regard the other man with renewed suspicion.

"Would you happen to know the reason behind this phenomenon, Mullin?" he asked, his voice holding a slight edge.

"Alocer and his followers have begun the preparations for putting their plans into action," Mullin replied, staring shamefully at the floor. "The dark energies caused by their ministrations is likely what's keeping the hollows away from this town."

"I haven't felt any 'dark energies'," Ichigo remarked.

"_You_ wouldn't," Mullin informed him. "Only a demon can sense such things."

"You said you were human now," Chad pointed out. "So how can you sense it?"

"I may be locked into this human form," Mullin replied, "but I still have the blood of a demon running through my veins. My ability to sense other demons is weak, at best, but it's still there."

"Would you all mind leaving Mullin and I alone for a bit?" Kisuke asked. "I wish to discuss something with him in private."

"I don't mind them staying here," Mullin said, regarding the others. "They all seem to be concerned for Daria and her safety, and I'm sure they have questions of their own which require answers."

"_I_ mind," Kisuke said, leveling his gaze at the other man.

Yoruichi almost smiled at the exchange. She knew that look and that tone of voice. It was the same one he'd used on numerous occasions during his time with the Onmitsukido, reserved for whenever he questioned shinigami about the whereabouts or activities of a suspected criminal.

"Come on," she said as she began ushering the others out of the room. "Let's go on downstairs and get something to eat. Tessai?"

"Of course, Yoruichi-dono," the large man agreed, bowing slightly. He, too, had noticed the shift in Kisuke's demeanor and knew it would be best to get the children out of the room so they wouldn't have to witness the darker side of the playful shopkeeper. "I will be happy to serve you all whatever you would like."

"Let's go, shoo!" Yoruichi urged as she practically shoved Ichigo and the others out of the room. They grumbled in protest – particularly Renji and Ichigo – but complied with her demands for fear of incurring her wrath. Once they were all on their way back downstairs, she turned back to Kisuke with a sigh.

"Try to go easy on him, Kisuke," she requested. "We might need him."

"I'll do my best," he assured her with a slight nod, then turned his attention to the man standing next to him as she closed the bedroom door. Mullin regarded him fearfully, the final exchange between him and Yoruichi having caused him a considerable amount of distress. Kisuke grinned triumphantly. That was precisely the reaction he had hoped he would get from him.

"Do you believe me when I say that I _will_ kill you if you lie to me?" he asked, still smiling.

"I do," Mullin quietly answered, nodding solemnly.

"Then tell me," he began, taking a few menacing steps toward him, "why would the Demon Lords choose _this_ town, of all places, to be the stage of their great uprising?"

"Because of the negative energy surrounding this area," Mullin answered.

"What negative energy?"

"There was a war here recently, yes?" Mullin asked, though the question was more or less rhetorical. "Many people died here. That sort of thing leaves a mark on the world, a black mark that can't be seen by the naked eye. Demons can sense where these sites of death and destruction are."

"And I suppose you're going to tell me that the negative energy left here by the war makes this town an ideal place to bring their plans to fruition?" Kisuke wondered, his demeanor suddenly changing from threatening to remorseful. The war itself had partly been his fault, so the revelation that it had given the Demon Lords the ideal place needed to put their plans into action made him feel even more responsible.

"Don't feel guilty," Mullin consoled him, seeing the look on his face. "Yes, it is true that they were waiting for a spiritual war to break out so that they had an optimum location to perform the steps needed to complete their ultimate goal. But they would have chosen to begin somewhere else by now, anyway. War is everywhere in this world, I'm afraid."

"Does this town offer them some sort of additional advantage, then?" Kisuke asked.

"Yes. Like I said, the war here was a spiritual one, battled in by the shinigami and hollow." He paused for a moment, sighing heavily as he leaned back against the wall behind him. "I'm afraid that the amount of spiritual energy expended by those involved in the battles that took place here have caused the environment of this town to become so saturated with it that it will make the steps they need to take in order to complete their objective all the more easy for them to accomplish."

"In short, what does that mean for us?" Kisuke requested for his own clarification. Mullin turned to look at him, the lines of worry on his face making him look much older than his physical body.

"What would have taken _years_ to complete will only take a few short months," he informed him. "Six, at the most. Probably not even that. Perhaps half as long, I can't really say."

"What, exactly, are they planning on doing?"

Mullin shifted a bit uncomfortably on his feet. "I hate to change the subject here, but I thought we were concerned about Daria and getting her back?"

"We are," Kisuke agreed, nodding.

"Then I should go get her," Mullin said.

"I thought you told us you couldn't tell where she was?" Kisuke asked, a bit suspicious.

"I can't track her by her reiatsu, but I have a good idea of where she might be," Mullin told him.

"Then tell me where you think she is, and _I_ will go after her," Kisuke suggested. "If you go after her, she'll likely run again and then _none_ of us will have any idea where she went."

Mullin stared silently at him for a moment, then sighed and pushed away from the wall he was standing against, turning slightly and nodding toward the altar Daria had set up for her parents.

"What?" Kisuke asked, looking at the altar. All that sat upon it were a picture of her parents, a couple of candles, and over a dozen seashells of varying shapes and sizes.

"Those shells," Mullin said, still staring at the altar. "Count them. There should be sixteen. Daria's mother would take her to the shore every summer, and each year they brought a new one back with them to add to their collection. They're very important to her, one of her most prized possessions. She left pretty much everything behind in London _except_ her photographs and those shells."

"You think she's at the shore?"

"If I remember correctly, there's a beach not too far from here," Mullin said, glancing at the other man briefly.

Kisuke immediately left the room, heading downstairs to find the others. Everyone was currently present, except Tessai, and Ururu was serving tea to their guests who had taken up seats around the table in the back room once more.

"Tessai's in the kitchen," Yoruichi informed him of the large man's absence.

"Tell him I went to find Daria," he instructed her.

"You know where she is?" Ichigo asked, jumping to his feet.

"Yes, but I'm going to get her by myself," he told the young shinigami.

"We want to go, too," Orihime insisted, standing to join Ichigo.

"No," Kisuke told them, firmly. "She's confused and scared right now. She doesn't need half a dozen people coming after her like she's some sort of monster. I'll go get her, you all just wait here and keep an eye on Mullin."

"Still don't trust him?" Yoruichi asked.

"I'm beginning to," Kisuke replied. "But we need him to stick around so we can find out everything he knows about Daria and this uprising. So don't let him leave the shop."

"He won't be going nowhere, boss," Jinta assured him, hooking his thumb over his shoulder at Renji. "The moocher will make sure of it, or else he won't be allowed to eat for a week. Right, moocher?"

Renji's eye twitched angrily and Rukia had to grab his arm to keep him from leaping across the table and strangling the small boy.

"I'll be back as soon as I can," Kisuke announced with a slight smile before leaving the shop, making sure to grab his sword on the way out.

* * *

><p>Kisuke found Daria right where Mullin had said she would be. She was standing along the shore, shoes discarded several feet away in the sand, just staring out at the vast ocean as the waves rolled in and lapped at her feet and ankles. The sun was nearly set already, and she shivered slightly as the breeze came in off the ocean and blew the loose strands of her hair around her face.<p>

He watched her silently for a long while, keeping his distance and giving her space. He knew she had come here to be alone, and he didn't want to make her feel crowded or frighten her off. After a couple of minutes, he slowly went up behind her and wrapped his arms around her to stop her shivering in the cool spring air. Her entire body stiffened in response at the sudden touch, but she relaxed once more when she turned her head and saw who it was.

"Are you okay?" he asked her quietly, his eyes full of concern.

"Yeah," she replied, turning slightly in his arms and laying her head against his shoulder. "I just... I don't know how to feel about all of this."

"You should come back," he suggested, reaching up to stroke her hair with one hand. "Everyone's worried about you."

"Sure they are," Daria scoffed. "I'll bet they're _real_ worried about the demon girl."

"They are," Kisuke insisted. "You should have known better than to take off the way you did. Especially with the number of times you've been attacked, lately."

Daria fell silent, giving up her argument, and Kisuke continued to hold her as they stood together watching the sun completely disappear over the horizon. She suddenly began shivering again, and he was about to suggest they go somewhere indoors where it would be warmer when he noticed she wasn't shaking because of the cold, but because she was crying.

"What's wrong?" he asked. Daria shook her head, burying her face against his chest as she held tightly to his overcoat.

"I'm scared," she told him, her voice muffled.

"I already told you, I won't let anyone or anything hurt you," he reminded her.

"Not that," she corrected him, looking up at him. "I'm scared of _myself_."

Kisuke reached up and took her face in his hands, gently brushing away the tears on her cheeks with his thumbs as he tried to think of what to say. He knew that no matter what he said, it would likely offer little comfort to ease her mind.

"I know it's true," she told him, closing her eyes to keep more tears from falling. "It has to be. I... I tried to take off my necklace, but I couldn't."

She reached up and wrapped her hand around the emerald hanging from her neck, and Kisuke gently pried the medallion away from her and held it loosely in his palm as he stared at the symbol engraved onto it.

"He was right," Daria said, grabbing his wrist. "I've never taken this necklace off a single time in twenty-six years. I never really had a desire to. And when I tried just now... I just froze, and I couldn't bring myself to do it."

"It must be a part of the spell he was talking about," Kisuke mused, his eyes still focused on the symbol.

According to what Tessai had said, Leonard wore that symbol in order to repress the full power of his reiatsu. It had also been burned into Mullin's skin as part of his transformation into a human. It stood to reason that the spell placed upon the necklace was also a measure used to repress her own demonic side. That especially seemed plausible when he figured in the information Yoruichi had found on emeralds being used to ward off evil spirits and protect one from demonic possession.

Sighing heavily, he closed his fist tightly around the amulet and gave it a sharp yank, breaking the clasp and pulling the necklace free from her neck. Daria let out a small, sharp gasp of surprise as the chain briefly cut into the back of her neck before giving way, then stared at the broken necklace in Kisuke's hand with wide eyes.

"You... You broke it," she whispered in disbelief as she began reaching out to take the necklace from his hand, her own hand stopping a few inches above his as her entire body began trembling violently.

"Daria?" Kisuke said, looking up from his hand and finding a stricken look on her face.

Daria suddenly cried out and fell to her knees in the water, the trembling increasing in intensity. She screwed her eyes shut tightly, whimpering in pain as she wrapped her arms around herself, and Kisuke immediately knelt before her as he kept calling her name. She was too overwhelmed by whatever was happening to her, however, and didn't seem to even register his presence. He reached up and placed his hands on her shoulders, doing his best to steady her so she didn't fall face-first into the water and drown, carefully making sure the necklace remained clasped between his fingers so it wouldn't get lost in the tide. With the physical contact, he could feel the dark reiatsu in her churning and rising within her like a pot about to boil over.

"Shit," he swore under his breath, his eyes going wide as he suddenly realized what he had just done. That spell had been on her to keep the demon inside her at bay, and he'd set it loose and given it free reign to do whatever it wanted to her body. He shook her slightly by her shoulders, calling her name, but she still didn't appear to hear him.

"Daria!" he yelled, giving her a sharper shake that caused her head to snap back slightly. When her head returned to its proper, upright position, she looked at him silently with wide, innocent eyes full of fear.

"What just happened?" she asked quietly, gasping a bit to catch her breath.

"I don't know," he lied, shaking his head. He couldn't be entirely sure exactly what had gone on in the past few moments, and until he had a chance to discuss it with Mullin and get his input on the situation he decided it was best to play dumb rather than upset her with a mere theory.

"Why don't we head back to the shop?" he suggested, standing and pulling her back up to her feet with him.

"Do we have to?" Daria asked, looking at him hopefully. "I mean... Can't we just go back in the morning? I don't think I'm ready to face everyone, yet."

"Alright," Kisuke conceded with a nod. "We'll stay here for tonight and head back in the morning, then."

"I don't know _where_ we're going to stay, though," she admitted with a small laugh. "I'm not entirely sure where we are, and I didn't bring any money with me, besides."

"Don't you worry," he told her with a smile. "Just leave it all to me."


	20. Chapter 20

Chapter Twenty

Daria followed Kisuke back from the beach to the nearby road, unsure of what exactly he had in mind. He kept looking at her back over his shoulder, flashing her that playful smile he used whenever he was in a mischievous mood, which made her even more suspicious of what he was up to.

"I hate it when you do that," she muttered under her breath, causing him to stop and turn to her.

"When I do what?" he asked, feigning innocence.

"When you smile like that," she clarified. "It always means you're thinking perverted thoughts."

"Not _always_," he argued, taking a step closer to her and leaning down slightly.

"Case in point: That first day up in my room. You were smiling like that after I yelled at you for sneaking up on me."

"You were trying to be angry while shaking your underwear in my face," he reminded her with a chuckle. "It was kind of hard _not_ to smile."

"What about the morning I came to bring you your breakfast in the workshop?" she asked. "You smiled like that at me as you were trying to 'help' me clean up the mess I made."

"I was just teasing you, Daria. You know that."

"I _do_ know that, which is precisely why I'm wondering what the hell you're up to right now. Where are you taking me?" she demanded, pointing a finger in his face.

"You'll see, soon enough," Kisuke told her as he turned around and began walking again.

"Kisuke Urahara! I am _not_ moving from this spot until you tell me where we're going!" she called after him, crossing her arms over her chest.

"Oh? Then I guess I'll just have to carry you, won't I?" he asked as he turned around and went back over to her.

"Don't you dare!" she warned, backing away slowly. Kisuke simply grinned and bent down, picking her up around her legs and hoisting her up onto his shoulder.

"Put me down, Kisuke!" Daria demanded, reaching up with one hand and tugging down her skirt to keep his prying eyes from seeing her underwear yet again as she balled her other hand into a fist and pounded it against his back.

"Only if you agree to follow me, no questions asked," he told her, still walking.

"Fine," she agreed, sighing. "Just put me down, already."

Kisuke set her back down on her feet, and Daria smacked his shoulder once he stood back up in front of her with a grin. He chuckled as he took her hand firmly in his, pulling her along with him as they continued walking down the street once more. Daria silently seethed as he led her along the road, looking at the buildings they were passing as she attempted to determine where they were headed by their surroundings. The buildings all appeared to be hotels and resorts, and as they progressed along the road they went from smaller, more moderately-priced establishments to larger, very pricey looking ones. After a while, they stopped before one of the more lavish-looking resorts and Kisuke sighed a bit as he looked up the front of the building.

"Well, we're here," he announced, turning to smile at her.

"This is it?" she asked, looking at him with a raised eyebrow. "We're going to spend the night _here_?"

"Yes," Kisuke told her with a nod, still smiling.

"No offense, but how are we going to afford a room in this place?" she questioned him.

"Remember when you said you wondered how I made my money?" he asked her, walking backwards toward the entrance of the resort as he spoke, releasing her hand to gesture toward the hotel. "This is how."

"You _own_ this place?" she asked him, her voice full of disbelief.

"I'm a partner," he corrected. "I invested in this establishment when it was first built, and a portion of the profits are placed directly into a private account I set up."

"So you're actually rich, huh?" Daria mused as she began to follow him inside, smirking.

"Well... I wouldn't say I'm _rich_, but I'm well enough off that I don't need to worry about the lack of customers at the shop."

Daria was speechless. You wouldn't know from the way he was dressed or his general demeanor that he was actually part-owner in a fancy beach side resort and had enough money saved up to be able to live comfortably. His appearance alone made him seem like he was a part of the working class found farther toward the center of the city.

"Shall we head inside, then?" he asked, holding his hand out to her once more.

Daria hesitated a moment, then reached out and placed her hand in his. Kisuke wrapped his fingers around hers, holding her hand in a considerably more gentle grip than he had been previously when he was trying to keep her from running away while they were heading to their destination. She followed him in through the large glass doors and looked around the spacious foyer, wondering just how many secrets the man had that she still didn't know about.

"Mr. Urahara, what a pleasant surprise!" a middle-aged man in a dark suit - apparently the concierge of the resort – stated as he walked around the side of the front desk and came over to meet them. Kisuke released her hand briefly in order to shake the other man's hand, bowing respectfully as he smiled his most charming smile, then he took her hand once more after they had completed greeting one another.

"And who is this?" the man asked, turning his attention to Daria and smiling.

"This is my girlfriend, Daria," Kisuke announced, turning to her and giving her a wink. Daria blinked in surprise at him calling her that and opened her mouth to protest, but he began speaking before she could say a word.

"We were just in the area and I thought I'd show her the place," he said, turning his attention to the other man once more. "Are there any rooms available?"

"As a matter of fact, there are. We're in the middle of renovating the north wing, so we have those rooms blocked off, at the moment. You two would be able to have plenty of privacy," he added, giving the two of them a knowing smile.

"We'll be taking separate rooms," Daria insisted, catching Kisuke's eye and giving him a warning glare. "Right?"

"Yes, of course," he agreed, laughing. "Separate rooms."

"Right away," the concierge said, bowing slightly.

"And if you try to sneak into my room in the middle of the night, I'll scream," she whispered to Kisuke as the other man went back behind the desk to get them their room keys.

"You could scream all you want. I doubt anyone would hear, since there's no one else staying on that hall," he told her with a suggestive grin.

"Pervert," she muttered under her breath, but his words had had an effect on her nonetheless. Despite the bantering, she was still attracted to him and the way he was now massaging the palm of her hand with his thumb as he held it in his own hand made her stomach tie itself into knots.

"Here you are," the concierge said as he came back to where they were, handing them each a room key. "You will be in rooms 246 and 248."

"Thank you," Daria said as she pulled her hand out of Kisuke's and took the key for her room. "Well, I think I'm going to turn in for the night. It was nice meeting you."

She quickly made her way over to the elevator at the back of the lobby, desperate to put as much distance between herself and Kisuke as fast as possible. Once inside the elevator, she hit the button for the second floor and leaned back against the side wall with a sigh as the doors began to slide shut. They stopped moving, however, when Kisuke reached between them with one hand and halted their motion, causing them to open all the way to let him enter the lift with her. Daria slid along the side until she was pressed up against the back wall, staring at her feet in order to avoid making any unnecessary eye contact with him.

"Why are you acting like that?" Kisuke asked as the doors slid shut behind him and the elevator began its ascent to their floor.

"I'm tired, Kisuke," she told him with a sigh. "I'm not in the mood for playing, I just want to get some sleep."

He reached over and hit the stop button on the control panel, stopping the elevator between floors, and stepped forward until he was standing directly in front of her.

"Tell me what's really bothering you," he requested, reaching up and gently tilting her face back up toward his until she finally met his eyes. "Please?"

"I already told you, I'm scared," Daria replied, her voice barely above a whisper. "I'm... feeling things and I don't know how to deal with them right now."

"What sort of things?" he asked, stepping close enough to her that she had to tilt her head back against the wall to look up at him.

"Back there on the beach," she said, his closeness causing her breath to catch slightly in her throat, "I felt this overwhelming sense of darkness. It was as if it was trying to pull me in and consume me whole. And then, suddenly... It was gone. Like it was never there."

"I'm sorry," Kisuke apologized. "I shouldn't have removed your necklace like that when I had no idea what would happen."

"Don't apologize, Kisuke," she told him, shaking her head. "I can't be completely sure, because I don't really know _what_ happened back there, but... I think _you_ are the reason that darkness disappeared."

The two of them stood there silently for a moment, simply staring into each other's eyes, and then Daria suddenly let out a small, nervous-sounding laugh as she looked back down at her feet once more, a blush coloring her cheeks.

"God, I sound completely lame, don't I?" she remarked with a groan. "Like some sort of chintzy romance novel."

Kisuke chuckled. "Maybe a bit, but I don't mind."

Daria looked up at him and he smiled at her, reaching up to tuck a loose strand of her hair behind her ear. She watched him silently, unconsciously holding her breath, and had to hide her disappointment when he pulled away from her and turned around to start the elevator again.

"Get some rest," he told her as the doors opened on their floor and they stepped out into the empty hallway. "I'll get a hold of Tessai and let him know we're together so the others won't be worried that I'm spending all night searching for you. Don't worry about getting up early. We'll head back once we're ready."

"Alright," she said quietly, lagging a few steps behind him.

"This is your room," Kisuke announced, stopping in front of the door of room 246. He turned to her and leaned down, placing a soft kiss on her cheek, his lips hovering near hers for a moment before he pulled away.

"If you need me, I'm right next door," he reminded her.

"Right," Daria said, nodding slowly.

"Good night, Daria."

"Good night, Kisuke," she told him, watching him go into his own room before heading into hers.

Once she was alone in her room, she leaned back against the door with a heavy sigh as she closed her eyes. Had he just nearly kissed her, or had she imagined it? Perhaps it was her own over-stressed mind playing tricks on her. After all, she knew she was attracted to him, so it made sense that her own wishful thinking would cause her to easily misread his actions. Then again... He had shown signs of being attracted to her, as well. The way he kept brushing her hair back from her face, the gentle tone of his voice whenever he asked if she was okay, the way he'd held her as they stood together on the beach as well as back in her room at the shop – all of those things could be signs that his own feelings for her ran a bit deeper than those of a 'gracious host.'

Shaking her head, she pushed herself away from the door and crossed the room to the bed. She crawled up onto the mattress, letting her shoes fall off her feet and onto the floor, and flopped down on her back on top of the covers with a sigh, her arms held out from her sides. She lay splayed on the bed, staring at the ceiling, but sleep refused to come. She closed her eyes and concentrated on taking slow, deep breaths, but no matter what she couldn't calm her mind enough to allow her to rest.

After a while, she sat up on the bed and looked around the room. There was a television, but she really didn't feel like watching anything. She knew what she _wanted_ to do, but it didn't seem like a very good idea. Groaning in frustration, she fell back down onto the bed once more and closed her eyes in another vain attempt to get some rest. When sleep still refused to come for her, she got up off the bed and left her room, going down the hall to Kisuke's room.

She stood before the door of his room, weighing her options. She knew if she ever wanted to get any sleep, she was going to have to just swallow her fear and kiss him. Once the sexual tension she was feeling toward him was gone, she'd be able to relax.

Taking a deep breath, she steeled herself and knocked on the door. Several long seconds passed with no answer, and she wondered if he had already fallen asleep. She was about to give up and go back to her room when the door opened, and she found herself frozen and unable to speak. Kisuke _had_ been asleep. His hair was mussed and his eyes were bleary, and he was shirtless, as well. She opened her mouth to speak, but no sound would come out.

"Daria? What's wrong?" he asked, his voice croaking a bit.

"Nothing," she said, suddenly losing her nerve. She forced a smile and shook her head, taking a step back from him. "Sorry to wake you up."

Daria turned to go back to her room, leaving Kisuke to stare after her from his doorway with a confused look on his face, but she stopped short after the first couple of steps. Swearing under her breath, she turned back around and walked up to him, reaching up and grabbing the back of his head to pull his lips down firmly upon hers. Kisuke blinked in surprise as she kissed him, suddenly wide awake. After a moment, she pulled away from him, blushing bright red as she hastily released her grip on him.

"I'm sorry," she apologized, turning to make a hasty escape back to her room. Kisuke quickly reached out, grabbing her firmly by her wrist, and she turned to look at him over her shoulder. Her breath caught in her throat when she saw the dark look in his eyes, and she swallowed nervously as he backed her up against the wall, still holding fast to her wrist.

"I said I was sorry," she repeated as he pressed his body against hers, trapping her against the wall.

"I'm not angry," he told her quietly, shaking his head slightly as he closed the distance between them and claimed her mouth with his own.

Daria whimpered as Kisuke kissed her, blinking rapidly, suddenly realizing that the look she'd seen in his eyes hadn't been one of anger, but one of lust. Her eyes fell closed as she kissed him back, wrapping her free arm around his neck, and he groaned into the kiss as he released her wrist from his grip in order to wrap his arms around her waist and pull her against him.

She felt like she was drowning, but unlike earlier when she was drowning in darkness this was a pleasant sensation that she didn't want to end. She clung to him as she kissed him, her fingers threading into his pale blonde hair as she stood on her toes to press her lips even more firmly against his, silently pleading with him to keep going. Kisuke took the kiss deeper, and she moaned as she briefly fought him for control before giving in and letting him take the lead. She knew that if they didn't stop soon, things would end up going much farther than mere kissing, but she didn't care.

Kisuke broke the kiss after several minutes, leaving both of them gasping for breath. He kept his forehead pressed to hers, his eyes closed as he continued placing lighter kisses upon her lips, reluctant to let her go.

"Don't stop," she whispered, tightening her arms around him, causing him to open his eyes and lean back slightly to look into hers questioningly.

"Are you sure?" he asked her, not wanting to do anything she would end up later regretting.

Daria simply pulled him back down and kissed him again.

* * *

><p>Daria made a soft noise in her sleep as she rolled over, snuggling against Kisuke's warm body next to her own in the bed. Her eyes slowly fluttered open and she looked up at his sleeping face, smiling as she pulled herself farther up the bed until her face was level with his. The contact of her bare skin against his under the covers drew a moan from his throat, and she fell completely still as she waited to see if he would wake up. When his eyes didn't open, she let out a small sigh of relief.<p>

She continued watching him sleep for a moment, gently brushing his messy hair back from his face, then leaned over him and placed a soft kiss on his lips.

"How did this happen?" she whispered quietly to herself with her eyes closed. A moment later she opened them and looked at his sleeping face once more.

"How did I manage to fall in love with you?"

She'd been aware of her attraction to him for a while, but it wasn't until they shared that first kiss that she knew her feelings went deeper than mere infatuation. If she was entirely honest with herself, she knew her feelings had begun changing for him ever since the night she ended up sleeping in his room. She'd seen an entirely different side of him that night – one that was gentle and caring rather than cocky and playful – and it had made her begin to think differently of him, even then. She felt safe when she was with him, which was something she hadn't felt in a _long_ time. He told her he'd protect her, and she believed him.

Maybe it was a silly reason to fall in love, and maybe she wasn't really in love with him at all but just desperately trying to hold on to the only positive thing she currently had in her life. All she knew was that when he kissed her, the entire outside world just disappeared and nothing mattered but the two of them and the way he was holding her in his arms. She never believed that sort of thing could happen in real life, but it had. And she swore that she could see in his eyes that he cared about her, but again she couldn't be sure that it wasn't just wishful thinking.

Sighing softly, she laid her head back down on his chest, closing her eyes and listening to the steady rhythm of his heart beating as she drifted back to sleep.

Kisuke waited until he heard her breathing slowly even out – signaling that she had, in fact, fallen back to sleep – before slowly opening his eyes. He looked down at the top of her head, reflecting on what had just happened. He'd been about to grab her and pull her down on top of him when she's opened her mouth and confessed to being in love with him. That had given him a fair amount of pause, and he'd chosen to instead pretend he was still asleep.

He'd had other women tell him they loved him before, and he'd always just smiled and thanked them without ever really returning the sentiment. After all, with the average lifespan of a shinigami spanning several centuries, it was quite a big deal to commit yourself to one person for any significant amount of time. When he'd heard Daria say she was falling in love with him, though, it made him think about all the times they'd been together. Granted, they had only met a moth ago, but the more he thought about it the more he realized that he had been gradually growing increasingly fond of her. At first, he'd just enjoyed teasing her and attempting to get a rise out of her. But as the days went on, he found himself wanting to comfort and protect her, as well.

Things probably began to change the night he allowed her to sleep in his room, but the real catalyst had been the moment her lips first made contact with his. Yoruichi had once chewed him out for his love-them-and-leave-them attitude toward women, telling him that someday he'd meet a woman who would floor him with a single kiss, but he'd never believed there was any substance to that threat until Daria kissed him. In that brief moment, he felt a need unlike any he'd ever felt before. It wasn't just a physical need, but an emotional one, as well. Then, once they'd moved back into his room, she'd asked him to make love to her and he'd not only been unable to refuse her request – despite his better judgment telling him it was a bad idea and would only complicate things – but he found that being with her was an experience unlike any he'd ever had with any other woman in his vast lifetime.

Sighing heavily, he reached up and gently stroked her hair, being careful not to wake her. It seemed illogical to think it was at all possible, but a part of him wondered if maybe he was falling in love with her, too.

* * *

><p>Somewhere off in a small mountain village outside of Karakura Town, there stood a rather run-down looking building. It had been abandoned for generations, and thus had no modern amenities such as electricity. There were still lights visible in certain windows, however, even from a distance, which caused the local inhabitants of the area to claim that the building was haunted. No one dared to go near it for fear of being attacked by the potentially malevolent spirits which supposedly dwelled within its walls, which was just as well considering who had recently taken up residence there.<p>

A man walked with a purposeful stride toward his destination, his footfalls echoing off the walls each time one of his expensive dress shoes came into contact with the stone floor of the lengthy hallway he was traveling down. His shoes were black, just like the rest of his attire, which consisted of an expertly-tailored three piece suit with a matching silk shirt and tie. The suit matched his hair, which was cut short and also black as night save for a few stray grey hairs at his temples. His eyes, however, were not black... nor were they human. They were the nearly solid amber color of a snake's eyes, save for the the slit-like pupil running vertically down the center of each one. The only other bit of color on his person was the long golden chain around his neck carrying an old-fashioned hourglass upon it which was also made of solid gold.

"Look who's finally here," a condescending voice called from several feet ahead of him. The man looked up, frowning slightly as a younger man stepped out of one of the doorways along the hall as he approached and fell into step beside him.

The younger man was considerably shorter than him, and while most of his hair was the same dark color the front portions had been bleached to a startling platinum blonde. His eyes were a pale shade of blue, and unlike the older man's seemed perfectly human. His manner of dress was also vastly different. Instead of the elegantly-tailored ensemble of his partner, he had opted to wear a tight pair of black leather pants with high-heeled boots and a ruffly white shirt which fell open nearly to his navel. His more reserved partner had told him he looked like some sort of trashy goth-rock wannabe vampire, and he'd laughed and said that was the exact look he was going for.

"What do you want, Pruflas?" the dark-clothed man asked in an annoyed tone, glancing out of the corner of one of his viper eyes at the other man. "I thought I told you to stay away from me."

"That's not a very nice thing to say to your partner now, is it?" Pruflas asked, pouting dramatically.

"We are only partners when the master sends us out to complete a task for him," he corrected, keeping his eyes straight ahead as he continued walking.

"Because you're a pussy and refuse to fight on your own. Honestly, Botis, if it wasn't for the fact that you're the Grand Seer I highly doubt he would keep you around."

Botis stopped in his tracks and turned to look at the younger man, smirking a bit.

"It is not that I _can't_ fight, Pruflas. I simply choose _not_ to. Perhaps you would like a demonstration of my true power, sometime?"

He allowed the dark energies within him to flare up briefly, and his young partner struggled for breath as he sank to his knees before him. Botis' smirk widened and he made a satisfied sound before releasing him from the hold of his power. Knowing that his point had been made, he turned on his heel and continued on his way toward the heavy doors at the end of the hallway, leaving the other man on the floor still attempting to catch his breath.

As he approached, he noticed the other Demon Lords leaning against the walls just outside the main chamber, the dim lighting of the candles in the sconces along the walls throwing their shadows across the floor and making the lot of them the perfect picture of evil. It was ironic, really. Of all the places they could have chosen to make their headquarters, Alocer had gone and selected an abandoned church.

"He's waiting for you," announced a man with long, shaggy dark hair and several days' worth of stubble, dressed in faded blue jeans, a dark t-shirt, and a leather jacket and biker boots. He reached out with one clawed hand and pulled open the door he and the others were standing around, gesturing for Botis to enter into the room.

Botis bowed slightly to the other man and stepped into the room, pausing just inside the threshold as the door closed heavily behind him. He remained still and silent, waiting to be addressed by the dark figure who was standing at the back of the room, looking out the window at the peaceful village shrouded in darkness below. The moonlight filtered in through the dirty glass and shone off the plated chest armor he wore over a red sweatshirt with a hood that was pulled up over his head. After a moment, he turned his head slightly to look at his visitor, and the moonlight caught one of his eyes – a golden feline eye – giving it a slightly menacing glint.

"Botis, you have arrived," he observed in a deep, growling voice.

"Yes, Lord Alocer," Botis said, bowing respectfully. "What can I do for you this night?"

Alocer turned back to look out the window once more, remaining silent for a long time before speaking again.

"I take it you felt it, too?" he asked.

"Of course," Botis replied, nodding.

"Will this be a problem?" he questioned the other man, turning fully toward him and wrapping his large, muscular arms over his chest.

"I have told you before, she poses no threat to your plans."

"Even now?" Alocer asked, sounding unconvinced.

"My lord, I have foreseen your victory. _No one_ will be able to prevent you from opening the gate," Botis assured him.

Alocer regarded him silently for several long seconds, looking for some sort of sign that the Grand Seer was lying to him, but Botis didn't so much as blink under his scrutinizing gaze. Satisfied that he was telling the truth about his visions, he nodded and turned back toward the window once more.

"Very well. You may leave, now."

Botis bowed one final time and left the room, closing the door silently behind him. The other Demon Lords regarded him expectantly as he turned toward them, each one standing a bit more at attention as they awaited their instructions from him.

"All is going according to plan," Botis told them. "What has happened tonight will have no bearing on our ability to reach the master's final goal."

"So... What now?" Pruflas asked, glaring slightly at him from where he was leaning against the wall with his arms crossed over his chest.

"The preparations have all been made," the man with the leather jacket announced in an authoritative tone of voice. "In the morning, we begin the process of opening the seals."


	21. Chapter 21

Chapter Twenty-One

Daria cast a sideways glance at Kisuke as they walked together hand-in-hand in the direction of the shop. The two of them had been walking in silence for a long time, having barely spoken to one another since they first woke up that morning. He'd offered to let her shower first, and as she'd done so he'd taken the opportunity to fix the broken clasp on her necklace – which he had stuck in his pocket the previous night while they were still standing on the beach – and now she had it safely placed around her neck and tucked into her shirt once more.

She'd snuck back to her own room while he took his turn in the shower, not feeling quite ready to face him after what had happened between them, afraid she'd let a certain three words slip if they were alone together for any amount of time. He'd come to collect her once he was dressed, and she quickly made a beeline for the elevator in order to avoid being with him in a room with a bed lest he get any ideas of sneaking in a repeat performance before they hit the road. He'd asked her if she wanted breakfast, but she insisted that she wasn't hungry and it would be best if they got back to the shop so that the others wouldn't continue worrying about her safety, and he'd agreed that they could just eat once they arrived since Tessai would likely have made more than enough food for the number of people currently staying at the shop.

Now they were nearly back to the shop, and she was just realizing that he'd been holding her hand almost the entire way back. Before last night, she would have immediately tugged her hand from his and demanded to know what he thought he was doing, but now it seemed so natural to her that she didn't even blink when he did it. That alone was enough to cause her to panic slightly, and she suddenly stopped walking and tugged her hand out of his grasp, causing him to stop as well and turn toward her with a curious expression on his face.

"Something wrong?" he asked, taking a step toward her.

"I think... we should keep what happened last night between us to ourselves," she told him, unable to meet his eye as she began blushing just thinking about it.

"Don't worry," he replied with a chuckle. "I may be a lot of things, but I'm not the sort of man who will kiss and tell."

"That's not what I mean, Kisuke," Daria clarified, looking up at him. "I don't want them knowing about it _at all_. That means no hand-holding, no kissing, no affectionate words or glances exchanged in front of them... nothing."

"But why?" he asked, getting closer to her still and wrapping an arm around her waist to pull her body against his, leaning down until his lips nearly touched hers as he smiled. "If I remember correctly, I believe we both quite enjoyed ourselves last night."

"Whether or not we enjoyed ourselves doesn't matter," she told him sternly as she squirmed out of his arms. "I just think it's a bad idea for the others to know we... did that."

Kisuke sighed, reaching up with one hand and pushing his hat down a bit more firmly onto his head, looking up slightly at the bright morning sun.

"You're having regrets," he said, his voice tinged with disappointment. He had just _known_ this would happen, which was why he'd asked her if she was sure before things went too far. He should have listened to the part of his brain that kept telling him she was vulnerable and just looking for some sort of comfort, but he'd instead chosen to let his libido take control of the situation.

"I don't regret what happened, Kisuke," Daria said quietly, shaking her head a bit. "I... It was wonderful, and given the chance I'm sure I'd do it all over again."

She had barely caught herself in time, nearly telling him she loved him. It wasn't that she didn't want him to know about how she felt about him. _She_ just wasn't entirely sure, herself, how genuine her feelings were for him. And until she was sure, she didn't want to say anything that might potentially make things even more awkward between them than she knew they were already going to be.

"If you're not having regrets, then why don't you want the others to know?" Kisuke asked, getting close to her again. They were still far enough away from the shop to be out of the line of sight of anyone who might be keeping an eye out for their return, so he hoped she'd at least let him _try_ to convince her that hiding their affections for one another was a bad idea.

"Think about it, Kisuke," she replied, backing away from him before he got too close and she ended up giving in. "I'm a demon, or at least _half_ one. Yoruichi already hates me. If she finds out we've slept together, she'll probably try to kill me in my sleep. Not to mention, I doubt the others would look upon the relationship favorably."

"Yoruichi-san was simply concerned that you might be dangerous," Kisuke informed her. "She doesn't really _hate_ you."

"I might _be_ dangerous," Daria reminded him. "We don't know for sure, yet. _Something_ happened when you broke my necklace. I know you felt it, too, so don't try to say everything will be okay."

Kisuke saw tears starting to form in her eyes, and suddenly realized what she was telling him without actually saying the words: She was afraid that she would hurt him, and since he already knew she was in love with him he also knew how much that idea was killing her inside. He sighed softly, grabbing her gently by her wrist and tugging her toward him. She resisted for a moment, then gave in and allowed him to pull her into his embrace. He held her for a long while, not saying anything, just silently comforting her.

"You won't hurt me," he said quietly after a few minutes had passed, reaching up to stroke her hair with one hand.

"You don't know that, Kisuke," she argued, her voice barely more than a whisper. "You can have all the faith in me you want, but neither of us knows what I'm really capable of."

He couldn't help smiling a bit. She certainly was stubborn. So was he, but he could tell that this would be a losing battle, and so he decided it would be best to just drop his argument and abide by her wishes. He knew it would be a difficult task – he was a natural flirt and with this new step they'd taken in their relationship, it would be even harder to keep himself in check – but he would do whatever was necessary to help put her mind and her fears at ease.

"Alright," he finally agreed, nodding as he took a step back from her. "I promise I'll behave myself and no one will be the wiser about what happened last night... On one condition."

"_What_ condition?" Daria asked, eying him warily.

"I'd like a kiss," he told her, tucking a loose strand of hair behind her ear. She nodded slightly and he bent down to kiss her, his lips gentle upon hers. Daria hesitated a moment, then returned the kiss, wrapping her arms around his neck, and Kisuke backed her up against the wall of the building they had been passing by on their way down the alley toward the shop as he kissed her a bit more firmly.

He'd had his reservations about the previous night, thinking maybe everything that had happened between them was caused by a mixture of her anxiousness and his own lust, but as he kissed her he knew that it was really more than that. He knew she loved him, and if he was completely honest with himself he knew that he cared about her, too. He felt something for her that he'd never felt before for any woman – a need to not only be by her side but to also protect her from anything that might come her way. Yoruichi was sure going to have a field day once she found out that he had actually fallen for her.

Daria was the first to pull away, placing her hands flat against his chest and gently pushing him back to break the kiss. They stared silently at one another for a long while, their eyes communicating silently about just how much they really did care for one another, and Kisuke gently kissed her one final time before releasing her and taking a step back from her. The two of them began walking in silence once more, the backs of their hands just barely touching as they walked side-by-side, and in a few minutes they arrived at the front of the shop.

"It's about time you two showed up!" Renji called from the stoop, broom in hand. Jinta laughed and waved at them while Ururu went inside to inform the others of their arrival.

Mullin was the first one to join them outside, his face flushed and eyes shining with worry as he looked Daria over. He grabbed her hands, turning them over in his own in order to examine her palms, then placed a hand at the back of her head and leaned close to look into her eyes. Daria gave Kisuke a startled look and he stepped over between them, placing a hand on Mullin's shoulder and standing in his way so he couldn't bother her any more.

"Something wrong?" Kisuke asked the frantic man, who looked as though he hadn't gotten any sleep.

"What did you do to her?" Mullin asked in a demanding voice.

"I didn't do anything to her," Kisuke replied without missing a beat. He felt Daria tense behind him, and knew she was also wondering if he somehow knew about what had happened between them the previous night.

"You removed her necklace, didn't you?" Mullin asked, pointing at Daria around Kisuke's shoulder. "Don't lie. I know you did."

"How would you-" Daria began asking, but was cut off by Mullin's slightly panicked voice.

"I felt her power," he told them. "I felt it surge last night, and if _I_ felt that, then the Demon Lords certainly did, as well."

"Kisuke..." Daria said quietly, grabbing hold of the back of his overcoat. He turned his head slightly to look at her and unconsciously reached back to put his arm around her shoulders in a comforting gesture.

"What does that mean for her?" Kisuke asked Mullin, turning to look at him from within the shadows of his hat.

"That depends... Did you touch her?"

"What?"

"_Did you touch her_?" Mullin repeated as the others slowly filed outside, silently watching the scene that was unfolding before them. "After you removed the necklace, did you touch her?"

"What does that matter?" Daria asked.

"If he did, then he probably interrupted the integration of your powers," Mullin explained.

"Integration of what?" Ichigo echoed, leaning against the wall of the store.

"Her demonic powers have been locked away by the seal created when her father placed that necklace upon her while she was still a baby," he explained, addressing Kisuke. "When you removed the necklace, you broke that seal and her powers began flowing out of her and integrating with her human soul. However, physical contact can interrupt the cycle, particularly if that contact is from someone she cares about."

Kisuke and Daria exchanged a look before returning their attention to Mullin.

"So now, I'll ask you again," Mullin repeated himself, sounding even more agitated. "Did you touch her after removing her necklace?"

"Yes," Kisuke replied, nodding slowly. "I did."

Mullin swore under his breath, bringing a hand up to pinch the bridge of his nose.

"What's the big deal?" Rukia asked as she stood next to Renji, arms crossed over her chest.

"Breaking the process of the integration means that she'll have to begin the process anew on her own."

"You mean, it won't happen unless I _let_ it?" Daria asked, sounding hopeful.

"Exactly."

"Then I just won't allow it to happen," she remarked, relieved. "As long as my demonic powers remain dormant, then those Demon Lords can't find me and I won't be a danger to anyone."

"I'm afraid you can't do that," Mullin told her. "Your powers are still inside you, whether you choose to ignore them or not. You _are_ a demon, Daria. You can't change that. As long as you continue to deny that part of yourself, it will also continue to fight for supremacy. Especially now that the seal upon it has been broken."

"So?" Daria said, shrugging.

"_So_, if you decide to continue denying your true nature, it will eventually kill you."

Daria stiffened at the realization that she either had to accept the darkness within her or else become consumed by it. She let go of Kisuke and side-stepped away from him, wrapping her arms protectively around herself, and he watched as she emotionally shut down. He began to reach for her, meaning to give her some sort of reassurance that everything would be alright, but she caught him and gave him a warning gaze which caused him to pause with his hand extended partway toward her arm.

"I think I need to be alone," she said quietly to them all, though her eyes were still locked on Kisuke.

"It's really not as bad as you think, Daria," Mullin assured her, his tone much calmer and more sympathetic than it had been a moment ago.

"How?" she asked, her eyes flashing angrily as she looked at him. "How is it _not_ as bad as I think? I'm a _demon_. I'm... evil."

"Demons aren't evil," Ichigo told her. "Right, Mullin?"

"Not all," Mullin agreed. "But she deserves to know the truth."

Ichigo and a few of the others exchanged a look among themselves, then he looked back to Mullin and nodded slightly. Daria watched the interaction, perplexed about what they all knew that she apparently didn't.

"Let's go inside," he suggested with a sigh. "The barriers around the shop should prevent the Demon Lords from detecting you, for the time being."

"Tessai," Kisuke addressed him as he went to Daria and began ushering her into the building, "please make sure you fortify your spells. We can't risk them coming here and causing any sort of damage."

"Understood," Tessai replied with a nod before disappearing into the shop. Kisuke held back with Daria and waved the others back inside ahead of them, then waited until they had all gone into the building before turning to her.

"It'll be okay," he assured her with a gentle smile. "Tessai is very talented at placing barriers. He prevented me from being found and captured after I was sentenced in Soul Society."

"What exactly did you do, anyway?" she asked, looking at him with a fair amount of suspicion.

"I did nothing wrong," he told her. "What I was accused of was a horrible crime that I did not commit."

"So you were framed?" she concluded.

"Yes, but it's a long story. And right now, we should be more concerned with you and making sure we get to the bottom of what's going on."

Daria nodded slightly as she wandered into the shop and he followed her, placing his hand against the small of her back as a gesture of reassurance. He half expected her to turn around and remind him of their deal, but she either didn't notice or chose to ignore it.

"So?" Ichigo asked a bit impatiently as soon as the two of them entered the back room. He and his friends were already seated around the table, upon which Yoruichi was sitting in her feline guise. Tessai and the children sat against the back wall, while Mullin remained standing near the doorway which led out into the hall. Yoruichi turned and looked at them briefly as they walked in, head tilted slightly in curiosity as she silently regarded them before retuning her attention to the man standing before them all.

"First things first," Mullin said, pulling a small dagger from a sheath that was hooked to his belt. Ichigo and the others were immediately on the alert, and Kisuke stepped in front of Daria in case he was planning to attack her.

"Relax," Mullin requested, holding up his scarred left hand out in front of him, palm facing up. "I just figured a demonstration was in order."

He took the dagger and cut open his palm, wincing a bit in pain as the blade cut into his flesh. Blood immediately began to seep out of the wound, and he curled his fingers together and turned his wrist to allow the blood to drip from his fist to the floor. He began to recite something in Russian, and Kisuke turned his head slightly toward Daria, his eyes never leaving the other man.

"What's he saying?" he asked her, knowing she was the only person in the room who understood the language.

"Minion of darkness, heed my call," she translated, loud enough for the others to make out what she was saying, her voice wavering in fear. "I am the master, you are my puppet. Rise from the depths and serve my will."

"What the hell is this guy doing, Urahara?" Ichigo asked, moving from his place at the table to put himself between Mullin and the others.

A moment later a dark portal opened at Mullin's feet, and two black, shriveled hands reached out and braced themselves on the floor surrounding the swirling darkness. Next, the top of a head became visible, followed by two glowing red eyes. Daria immediately tensed, and Kisuke reached behind himself and pushed her back slightly in an attempt to keep her away from any possible danger.

"There is no need to panic," Mullin assured them, his voice barely audible over the low growling that was emanating from the black creature that had finally pulled itself free of the swirling mass.

The portal gradually disappeared, and the creature stood before them all, hunched over slightly as it took in the appearances of the humans before it. Daria stepped closer to Kisuke, grasping his upper arm with one hand as she carefully looked around him to get a better look at the thing she had glimpsed at the scene of her mother's murder. The moment it laid eyes upon her, the creature jumped toward her and landed behind her in a low-crouching position. Kisuke immediately spun around to face the creature, sword ready to strike it down if it came any closer to her.

"Don't," Daria told him, laying a hand on his arm and pushing his weapon down. "You'll only agitate it."

"How can you be so calm?" Ichigo asked. "A minute ago you looked like you were about to start screaming in terror."

"I understand, now," Daria replied, releasing her grip on Kisuke's arm in order to take a step closer to the creature. It bent even lower to the ground as she approached, and she tentatively reached out and placed her hand on top of its head. Nearly everyone in the room held their breath as the creature raised its glowing eyes to look at Daria and opened its mouth to let out an incoherent growl.

"_Princess_," the creature's muddled voice came through the growl. Daria turned to look at Mullin, who merely nodded.

"But... _Why_ can I understand what it's saying, now? Is it because of what Kisuke did?" she asked him.

"You actually _understood_ that?" Renji said in disbelief. "It just sounded like growling."

"And why did it call me 'Princess'?" Daria continued questioning Mullin.

"Do you believe me now that your father was one of the ten Demon Lords?" he asked her in reply.

"Answer me!" Daria demanded. "I want to know what the hell this all means."

"You answered yourself, just a minute ago," Mullin told her, going over to stand behind his minion. "You have changed, and now instinctively know not only that this creature means you no harm but also that it regards you as royalty."

Daria remained silent as she thought back to the other times she had recently come into contact with creatures such as the one before her. Each time, one of them had crouched down low before her just as this one had – a gesture she now realized was its way of bowing to her.

"So she's an heir to the throne in the Underworld?" Rukia asked, her voice unusually quiet.

"It's simply a title," Mullin explained. "Those ranked just below the Demon Lords are known as Princes or Princesses. Since Daria is Leonard's daughter, that would put her within that category."

"I can't deal with this," Daria said in an emotionless tone, closing her eyes and shaking her head in an attempt to make them all go away.

"You will only end up hurting yourself if you continue denying what you truly are," Mullin told her, taking another step toward her. "Don't let your father's sacrifice be in vain."

Daria looked up at him, tears beginning to shine in her eyes.

"What do you know about how he died?" she wondered.

"Everything," Mullin simply said before turning away from her. He went over to the table and slowly sat down, a heavy sigh escaping his lips.

"Tell me," she requested, her voice wavering slightly. Mullin remained silent for a long while, and the others merely looked at him, nearly as anxious as she was for some answers.

"The uprising began approximately thirty years ago," he began, sighing once more. "Your father, Leonard... He first realized what Alocer was up to shortly before you were born. He was going to challenge him, but the Grand Seer stopped him and told him that he would lose and that he should make sure you were taken care of before attempting to stop the plans that had already been set into motion. He created your amulet, knowing it would mask your presence and keep the other Demon Lords from being able to sense your power and therefore prevent them from ever finding you. Then, with what little energy he had remaining, he turned me human and sent me here with the task of watching over you in case they should ever find you somehow."

"How did he die?" Daria simply asked. "And please don't tell me there was an accident. I want the truth."

"The day he gave you that necklace, he knew his fate was sealed. He went back to the Underworld and confronted Alocer and his followers. Alocer gave him a chance to join them, but he refused. And so they..." He faltered momentarily, taking a deep breath and looking at her as he hesitated to tell her the rest.

"Please," she begged him, her voice barely audible.

"They killed him, and then they consumed him."

"Are you saying they cannibalized him?" Ichigo blurted out. Rukia jammed her elbow into his side.

"That is how they're now able to move between the different dimensions," Mullin replied. "They absorbed that power from him."

The room fell silent and all eyes turned to Daria as the true cause of her father's death was revealed. She stood quietly for a long while, simply staring blankly at some spot on the floor ahead of her, looking as if she was in shock. Then, without a word, she turned and walked out of the room and began to go up the stairs to the second floor.

"Daria-san?" Orihime called after her in a quiet, concerned tone.

"Go," Mullin ordered, and it took Kisuke a moment to realize he was the one being addressed.

"Me?" he asked, pointing to himself. "Why don't you go after her?"

"You care for her," Mullin told him. "If anyone in this room can offer her the sort of comfort she needs right now, it's you."

"You had better not 'comfort' her the way you usually would, either," Yoruichi's stern cat voice warned him from the corner of the room.

"I wouldn't think of it," he assured her, smiling a bit. The cat's eyes widened briefly, then its features settled back into a scowl as he made his way out of the room in pursuit of Daria.

He found her sitting in the upstairs hallway, her back against the wall next to the door of her room. She had her knees pulled up to her chest, her arms wrapped around her legs, and her head bent forward to rest against her forearms. Kisuke sighed a bit as he took a seat next to her, sitting cross-legged on the floor. He removed his hat and began twirling it around on one of his fingers, saying nothing, simply waiting for her to speak whenever she was ready.

"I never should have asked," she finally said after several minutes had passed, her voice slightly muffled due to her position.

"You needed to know," he told her with a shrug, still twirling the hat on his finger.

"I _wanted_ to know," she corrected him.

"_No_," he argued, setting his hat next to him on the floor, "you _needed_ to know. All these years, you've wondered about the truth. It's been weighing on your soul that you really knew nothing about your father your entire life."

Daria raised her head and looked at him, but said nothing.

"I know it hurts," he continued. "Your father's death might not seem heroic or fair, but it happened the way it did and there's nothing that can be done to change it. All you can do is go on living your life in his honor, in spite of what happened to him."

"Both of my parents died because of _me_, Kisuke," she said, barely keeping her emotions in check. "How can I not let that bother me?"

"Mullin told you: Your father was going to die one way or another. He knew that, and so he chose to use what time he had remaining to ensure that you would be safe and able to grow up and live your own life. In no way was his death your fault."

"You should stay away from me," she warned him, sliding a bit farther away from where he had seated himself next to her. Kisuke merely slid closer to her, once more.

"Why?" he asked.

"People get hurt because of me. People _die_ because they care about me. I don't... I can't let anything like that happen to you, too."

"And I can't let anyone hurt you," he reminded her. "I promised, remember? And I'm not the sort of man who will make promises he doesn't intend to keep."

"Somehow I doubt that's entirely true," she remarked skeptically, almost smiling.

"It's true when it comes to the people I care about," he replied earnestly, causing her to blink in surprise. He chuckled quietly at the stunned look on her face and leaned over to kiss her briefly, pulling away before she could protest that he was breaking the promise they'd made before reaching the shop.

"Why don't you stay up here and rest a while?" he suggested, picking up his hat and standing as he placed it back on top of his head. "I'll have Ururu come up with something for you to eat, in a bit."

"I'm really not hungry any more," Daria informed him, grimacing at the thought of how her father had met his end.

"Very well," Kisuke said with a nod. "How about I send her up around lunchtime to see if you're feeling up to eating, then?"

"Okay," she agreed, standing up slowly.

"And no running away this time, got it?" he playfully scolded her, shaking a finger at her.

"No running away this time," she repeated with a smile, crossing her heart with one finger. He returned the smile and began making his way downstairs, but stopped when she called his name.

"Would you mind if I spent some time in your room?" she asked him. "I don't feel like I can face my parents just yet."

"Sure," Kisuke told her, nodding. "Take all the time you need."

"Thank you," Daria replied, her gratefulness undercut slightly by the sad undertone of her voice.

Not for the first time, Kisuke considered using a kikanshiki on her in order to change her memories. He knew that would be unfair to her, though, to rob her of the answers she had longed for for so many years and instead replace them with false information. He also knew that what had happened to her father was likely to play an important role in the battle they were all about to face, so changing her knowledge concerning the situation might very well be more detrimental than helpful.

Sighing a bit, he went back over to her and kissed her forehead, smoothing her hair back with one hand as he resolved to let things be as they were. He took a step back and looked at her, giving her a reassuring smile as he released her.

"Get some rest," he repeated before finally returning back to the others to resume their previous conversation. He needed to know exactly what the repercussions were of removing that necklace from around her neck, and what sort of precautions they could take in order to avert any sort of tragedy from happening.


	22. Chapter 22

Author's Notes: FYI, this is the last chapter I have to repost of this story to this account. Sorry to anyone whose inbox I've flooded with alerts for the last few days, but from now on you won't have to worry about receiving multiple messages a day about updates to this story.

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><p><span>Chapter Twenty-Two<span>

Kisuke sighed heavily as he reached the bottom of the stairs, suddenly feeling every bit as old as he really was. The woman upstairs was merely a fraction of his age, and still she had nearly as much weighing upon her soul as he did – and things were only bound to get worse for her. He was _not_ looking forward to whatever plans these Demon Lords had in store, especially with the threat of Aizen still looming somewhere over the horizon... however distant that might be.

He knew that in order to save his own sanity, as well as that of the others who were currently present within his home, he would have to get to the bottom of their plans and put an end to them as quickly as possible. However, part of him knew that it just wasn't going to be quite that simple.

Pushing his worry to the back of his mind, he put on his well-practiced facade of the easy-going shopkeeper and stepped into the sitting room where everyone was still gathered, quietly waiting for his return. Orihime was kneeling in front of the demonic minion that Mullin had called upon, patting its head like one would a puppy, and the creature made an almost appreciative sound as the others watched in apprehension.

"It's alright," Mullin assured Kisuke as he stopped in his tracks upon seeing what was going on before him. "Like I said before: Imps are simple-minded creatures. They won't attack unless directed to do so."

"What exactly _is_ that thing?" Renji asked, looking a bit disgusted as Orihime continued lavishing affection upon the creature.

"Imps are the result of human souls who have been sent to the Underworld as punishment for their mortal sins," Mullin explained.

"So that's why they look like burned corpses?" Ichigo wondered aloud.

"Yes," Mullin replied, nodding. "Basically, that's what they are. They're human souls who have endured so much torture for their sins that they have lost all sense of their former selves, both mentally and physically."

"They look kinda scary, but they're really not that bad," Orihime remarked, patting the creature one last time on its head before taking her seat at the table once more.

"Sort of like Ichigo," Rukia added.

"Hey, what's that supposed to mean?" Ichigo asked a bit angrily, turning to look at her as she began giggling.

"I hate to break this moment up like this," Kisuke interrupted, "but we have some important business to discuss."

He turned and looked at Mullin, who nodded and called the imp over to him. Once the creature was at his side, he said something to it and it immediately turned into ash and disappeared before their eyes. Mullin then joined the others at the table while Kisuke remained standing in the doorway with his arms folded over his chest.

"The Demon Lords are-"

"I'm not concerned with them right now," Kisuke cut Mullin off as he began speaking, causing everyone to turn their attention toward him. "Right now, I want to know what's going to happen to Daria... What I've done to her by removing that necklace."

Ichigo and the others were slightly taken aback by the tone of his voice. He'd never sounded worried before, even when things were going badly. He always had a thoughtful sort of tone to his voice when events took a turn for the worse, because he was always thinking up some way to counteract the situation. This time, however, he had no way of having any idea what they were up against and therefore couldn't possibly come up with an effective strategy for dealing with what was about to transpire. It was that feeling of helplessness that made his usually confident appearance truly falter for the first time in almost one-hundred years.

"Stop feeling so guilty," Mullin told him with a sigh. "I'm sorry that I overreacted. Yes, this is a serious matter... but it was inevitable, and with everything that's going on right now it's probably best that the seal be removed anyway so that Daria can get used to her power and actually put it to good use in the upcoming battles."

"What kind of power does she have?" Uryuu asked curiously.

"Wait, did you say _battles_?" Ichigo interrupted. "As in: More than one?"

"Excuse me, but I believe I asked him a question first," Uryuu pointed out, sounding very annoyed.

"Boys," Yoruichi warned them, her voice sounding even more stern than usual thanks to her cat form. The two of them glared briefly at one another before returning their attention to Mullin without saying another word.

"Yes, you heard me right," Mullin answered Ichigo first. "The Demon Lords have likely already begun moving into position so they can break the seals in order to open the gates to the Underworld and bring forth the legions of hell."

"I thought nothing could get out of the Underworld once sent there," Rukia commented.

"That is because of the seals placed upon the Underworld since the beginning of time," Mullin explained. "Think about it: Those who are sent there after their deaths are the vilest, most evil and depraved souls to have ever walked the earth. It would make sense that the highest powers would want to prevent them from ever being able to somehow come back and wreak havoc upon the living. And so, they placed a total of six mystical seals upon the gates of the Underworld in order to render them a one-way passage and prevent the evils within from ever being released. Of course, there _are_ ways around the restriction but nothing nearly as large-scale as what Alocer and his followers hope to accomplish."

"Such as?" Uryuu eagerly asked, his previous question forgotten due to the interest Mullin's explanation had piqued.

"I take it you all have heard of 'demonic possession,' yes?" he asked, his voice taking on a somewhat disgusted tone as he uttered the phrase. "Really, people who have become possessed are nothing more than hosts for evil spirits that had been incarcerated in the Underworld. These spirits are often called upon by idiotic children conducting séances and they find a way to enter humans whose souls are particularly vulnerable."

"You mean all that crap about Ouija boards is _real_?" Ichigo asked, eyes wide.

"No," Mullin replied with a chuckle. "I'm talking more of witchcraft and voodoo rituals. But don't misunderstand me, here. Just because someone practices witchcraft or is a voodoo priest doesn't mean they're evil. Both of those religions are very peaceful."

"There's always a few bad apples in every bunch," Chad remarked.

"Precisely," Mullin agreed. "But, back to answering your original question: Alocer will have split up his forces, with each of the Demon Lords being responsible for breaking one of the seals and guarding it while it gains the power needed to allow him to bring forth his _new_ gates to the Underworld – gates which, unlike the original ones, would allow the passage of entities both ways."

"So, in other words, we're going to have to take down each of these bozos separately?" Renji summarized.

"For the most part," Mullin corrected. "I anticipate that Botis won't be alone, though."

"Who's Botis?" Rukia wondered aloud.

"The Grand Seer," Mullin replied. "He doesn't believe in war. He finds fighting to be an illogical way to attempt to solve conflict, which is why I was so shocked when I discovered he had joined up with the others in support of Alocer's cause."

"Perhaps he's just playing Alocer for a fool," Yoruichi suggested. "Making everyone think he's turned sides the way Byakuya did that one time."

"That's not possible," Mullin told her, shaking his head. "Alocer can tell when he's being lied to. If Botis ever misled him, he would very likely be killed for his betrayal. Then again, as the Grand Seer he holds knowledge of the final outcome of this whole mess. Perhaps that alone is enough to warrant Alocer keeping him alive – at least until he has what he wants."

"Really, all we gotta do is find this Alocer prick and take him out," Ichigo stated, standing up. "That'll put an end to all this."

"It's not that simple," Kisuke said, sighing. "If we were to go after the ringleader, his lackeys would all come down upon us and we would never stand a chance against that many powerful demons – not even with Daria and Mullin on our side. Am I right?"

Mullin nodded solemnly in agreement, and Ichigo let out an agitated noise.

"What about the rest of the Demon Lords?" he suggested. "You said only seven of the ten are involved in this, right? Can't we somehow get the other three up here to help us?"

"Two of the other three are dead," Mullin informed them. "The third is the right hand of the King and we cannot afford to have him vacate his post and leave the King vulnerable. Especially when Alocer is doing all of this as an attempt to claim the right to the throne for himself."

"So we need to locate each of these Demon Lords and take them out, leaving Alocer for last," Kisuke remarked, stroking his chin thoughtfully. "The question is: How will we go about finding them?"

"Daria-san can do it, right?" Orihime suggested hopefully. "Mullin said demons can sense other demons, so she should be able to find where they are."

"She _should_ be able to," Mullin replied, sighing wearily. "However, I'm concerned about her unwillingness to accept her demon side."

"Will she really die if she can't accept it?" Uryuu asked.

"Yes," Mullin answered simply.

"She's afraid that she'll end up hurting someone if she gives her demon side free reign," Kisuke stated quietly, head lowered to shield his eyes from the others.

"She wouldn't be giving it 'free reign'," Mullin clarified. "She would merely be allowing the demonic powers within her to develop fully. Normally, they would have done so gradually as she got older, but since they've been repressed all this time they have twenty-six years of catching up to do."

"Couldn't that much power kill her too, though?" Ichigo asked, remembering how he had almost died when his reiatsu went out of control after defeating the menos Uryuu had accidentally called forth with their duel.

"I'm more concerned with her having a mental break than anything else," Mullin said with a sigh. "She _is_ half-demon, so her body should be more than capable of withstanding that much power all at once. However, she is _also_ half-human, and the nature of a demon's power is unnaturally dark. She's already in a fragile state of mind. So, really... Either way – whether she accepts her demonic side or not – she's going to be at risk."

Silence fell upon the room as they all contemplated what Mullin had just said. No matter what they did, no matter how they chose to handle things with Daria, her life was in danger. They still had the Demon Lords and their plans to worry about, but without her and her power they didn't know just how much of a chance they stood to defeat them.

"She'll be fine," Kisuke assured them after a moment. "She's stronger than you all think."

"He's right," Mullin agreed. "She's been on her own more or less for the past ten years. All we really have to concern ourselves with is the task of convincing her that her power isn't evil and that she's not going to hurt any of us."

He cast a meaningful gaze toward Kisuke, and the shopkeeper smiled slightly as he caught his eye for a brief moment before lowering his head once more and pushing his hat down firmly on top of his head with one hand.

"Did I miss something, here?" Renji asked, noticing the interaction between the two men.

"What?" Rukia wondered, looking at him.

"Nothing," Renji told her with a faint smile and a shake of his head. She frowned at him, unhappy that he refused to tell her what was going on, and he chuckled and kissed her cheek, causing her to turn bright red and smack him in the chest.

"I think I'm going to go make some tea," Kisuke announced in a chipper tone. "Would anyone else like anything?"

"I can take care of it, Urahara-dono," Tessai offered as he began to get up from his spot in the corner of the room with the children.

"No, I'll do it," Kisuke insisted with a wave of his hand. "I'm not so old and decrepit that I can't handle making my own tea. Not yet, anyway."

With a playful grin, he turned and made his way out of the room, pausing in the hallway and concentrating on Daria's reiatsu before making his way to the kitchen with a sigh. She was troubled. He could feel it even more clearly now than he could before, thanks to that intimate encounter they'd had the night before. He knew that it was going to be up to him to help her get through this transitional period, even if Mullin hadn't exactly come right out and said as much. It had been implied, and Kisuke being the sharp-minded man that he was had immediately picked up on the implication.

The problem was, he wasn't entirely sure how he was going to be of any help to her. She was stubborn and scarred by the way her parents had both died, and now she was being asked to accept a part of herself that was bigger than anything she'd ever known. He couldn't help but chuckle a bit, thinking how much like himself she was. His parents had both been killed in Rukongai, leaving him to fend for himself as a child, and he had been scared shitless when he began exhibiting the powers of a shinigami at a fairly young age. Of course, his fear had stemmed largely from not truly understanding what was going on with him. Hers came from the knowledge that she might be capable of doing horrible things.

"The key is to get her to understand her power and help her control it," he muttered to himself as he began preparing his favorite tea, unconsciously getting an extra cup from the cupboard.

"And how do you propose you'll do that?" Yoruichi asked from behind him. Kisuke turned around and found the black cat perched upon the island in the center of the kitchen. He'd been so lost in his thoughts that he hadn't even noticed her following him from the sitting room.

"I'll think of something," he answered, turning back toward the teacups he had set on the counter and placing a carefully-measured amount of tea leaves in each one.

"Perhaps you could nibble on her ear and use your best seductive voice to get her to let her guard down," Yoruichi slyly suggested.

"I don't think that's such a good idea," Kisuke replied with a nervous chuckle.

"Why not?" the cat asked playfully. "You two have already had sex."

"No, we haven't," he responded, making sure to keep his back turned to her.

"Liar," she accused him, jumping from the island to the counter where he was busy fixing his tea. Kisuke glanced at her briefly as she settled down next to the two teacups, tail wrapped neatly around her, a smirk curling her lips and just slightly showing off her sharp little cat teeth.

"I could tell something was up the moment I saw you two together this morning," she continued, leaning toward him slightly in order to get a better look at his eyes hidden beneath the brim of his hat. "Then when I warned you not to 'comfort' her in your usual way and you gave me that sly little grin... I knew I was right."

"You're imagining things, Yoruichi-san," he denied the accusation. "Are you sure you're feeling alright?"

"You've got that look in your eyes," she told him, her own golden cat eyes squinting as she inspected his face.

"What look?" Kisuke asked, bending his head down even more in an attempt to avoid her scrutinizing gaze.

"The same look you had after you got together with Kuukaku that one time."

"Keep your voice down!" Kisuke warned her in a harsh whisper, his head snapping up to glance over his shoulder and be sure no one else had overheard what she had just said.

"What?" Yoruichi teased, feigning innocence. "Oh, that's right... Ichigo's here right now, isn't he? Don't worry. Even if he _did_ happen to overhear me talking about how you were the one to take Kuukaku Shiba's virginity, I highly doubt he'd have the notion that he should run home and tell his father that _you_ were the one who deflowered her."

"Isshin would _kill_ me if he ever found out," Kisuke lamented.

"Why do you think I so willingly helped you cover it up?" Yoruichi asked him. "You still owe me for that, you know."

"Don't remind me," he muttered under his breath as he began pouring hot water into the two teacups he had prepared.

"You love her, don't you?"

Kisuke sighed. "I was young and stupid. It happened _one_ time, that's it."

"No, I mean Daria," Yoruichi clarified.

Kisuke paused with the teapot held slightly over the second cup, remaining quiet for a long moment before he silently began to resume what he had been doing.

"Kisuke?" Yoruichi prompted when he failed to give her a response to her question.

"I don't know," he said quietly. "I know I feel _something_ for her. Whether that's love or something else entirely, I'm not sure. All I know is that right now I want to help her get through this."

"So that she can, in turn, help us defeat the Demon Lords," Yoruichi concluded.

"Not just that," Kisuke corrected, turning his head to look at her. "I feel responsible for putting her in her current situation. I _knew_ that necklace was acting as some sort of mystical seal. I _knew_ it was likely better off to just leave it alone until I had all the information I needed. But for some reason, I was compelled to take it off her without having any notion of what the actual consequences might be. I was careless, which is something we both know I'm not."

"Since when?" Yoruichi asked, laughing.

"When it comes to important things, I'm not." Yoruichi gave him a questioning look. "Not generally, anyway. Perhaps once or twice I've made miscalculations, but for the most part-"

"I know," she agreed before he could begin rambling once more. "So, you feel guilty about putting her in this situation where her life is in danger because you care about her and don't want any harm to come to her."

"I promised her I would protect her, Yoruichi-san," he informed her. Yoruichi remained silent for a while, then a smile began to slowly break out across her fine feline features.

"You _do_ love her," she teased, chuckling as she jumped down off the counter and made her way to the door. "Wait till I tell everyone else that Kisuke's in looove," she added in a singsong voice.

"No, Yoruichi-san!" Kisuke demanded, going over and scooping her up off the floor. He held her up with one hand by the scruff of her neck so that she was at eye-level with him, his other hand sternly pointing a finger at her nose.

"I was just kidding," Yoruichi told him, blinking in surprise at his reaction.

"_Swear_ you won't tell any of the others about my personal involvement with her," he demanded, poking her nose with the tip of his finger to emphasize his request, causing her to blink reflexively.

"Should I even bother to ask why you're so intent on no one knowing you're sleeping with her?" she asked in reply, just about ready to bite off the end of his finger if he dared to continue poking her.

"Daria wants us to just keep it between ourselves, at least for now," Kisuke answered as he set her back down on the floor.

"Good luck with that," Yoruichi told him over her shoulder as she continued on her way back out to the others. "No one will hear it from me, though."

Kisuke sighed and returned to making his tea, blinking in confusion when he noticed he'd prepared two cups. A small smile broke out on his face and he chuckled a bit to himself as he realized that he had made a cup for Daria, as well, due to the fact he had been thinking about her as he was making it. For a moment, he considered running the extra cup up to her, then he decided against it. She needed some time alone to sort through her feelings, and as much as he knew she could probably really use a friend right now, he also wanted to give her the opportunity to come to terms with things on her own.

For now, he would simply return to the others and attempt to come up with an effective strategy for defeating the Demon Lords. He'd worry about convincing Daria to accept her demonic side later.


End file.
